Soehartos control 7.15m ha of forests in the country
JAKARTA (JP): Former president Soeharto, his family and their friends own stakes in 27 timber companies and 8 industrial forest estates, covering a total area of 7.14 million hectares of forests throughout the country, according to the latest findings of the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations.
Director General of the Utilization of Production Forests Waskito Soerjodibroto said on Tuesday that the ministry found strong indications that those properties were acquired by the Soeharto family and their cronies through KKN (the local acronym for corruption, collusion and nepotism) practices.
"Most of the alleged KKN companies are controlled by big timber groups, such as Barito Pacific and Kalimanis," he said in a news conference.
Waskito said that his office has refused to extend the logging contracts of two of these allegedly corrupt timber companies, PT Karya Tirta in Central Kalimantan and PT Alas Helau in Aceh.
Alas Helau, which covers 331,000 hectares of forest in Aceh, is owned by Soeharto's long-time golfing buddy Mohammad "Bob" Hasan through his Kalimanis group.
Waskito said his office refused to extend the two companies' logging contracts because they had failed to manage the forests in a sustainable manner.
He said the Soeharto family and their associates control the forests through shares held in various companies which own forest concessions and industrial timber estates, including those in timber tycoon Prajogo Pangestu's Barito Pacific Timber and Bob Hasan's Kalimanis Group and ITCI.
"We found that Soeharto's family holds majority stakes in 12 timber companies covering 2.3 million hectares of forests and in four industrial forest estates covering 1.5 million hectares of forests," he said.
The timber companies are PT Bumi Pratama Usaha Jaya, which controls 56,000 hectares in South Sulawesi, PT Rejosari Bumi in East Kalimantan, Karya Delta Group in Central Kalimantan and PT Rante Mario and PT Wahana Sari Sakti in South Sulawesi.
The Karya Delta Group is controlled by Soeharto's youngest daughter, Siti Hutami Endang Adiningsih, popularly known as Mamiek, who holds the rights to exploit 549,500 hectares of forest in Central Kalimantan.
The ministry also found two corruption-tainted timber companies under Barito Pacific, PT Panambangan in South Kalimantan and PT IFA in Jambi, which operate 44,876 hectares and 248,100 hectares of forest area.
Five timber companies under Bob Hasan's Kalimanis Group are also on the list. They are PT Essam Timber, PT Alas Helau, PT Kiani Lestari and PT Gunung Gajah Abadi in East Kalimantan, and PT Alas Helau in Aceh.
The Soeharto family also owns stakes in PT ITCI and four companies under Anthony Salim's Kalamur Group.
"Our findings have been reported directly to Coordinating Minister for Development Supervision/State Administrative Reform Pak Hartarto (Sastrosoenarto) and Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry Pak Ginandjar Kartasasmita for further investigation," he said.
Waskito said that the ministry would be more serious in investigating companies for corruption.
"We will not extend their concession periods when they expire. We will also directly revoke their logging contracts if we find that they have made any violations," he said.
Prajogo ranks first in the list of the country's biggest concession holders. His Barito Pacific owns the rights to 3.5 million hectares of forest concessions in Riau, Jambi, Central and South Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, Maluku and Irian Jaya through 27 companies.
The timber tycoon is a close associate of Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, popularly known as Tutut. They jointly established the Tanjung Enim Lestari pulp and paper factory in South Sumatra.
Bob Hasan is in fourth position. His Kalimanis Group holds logging rights to 1.63 million hectares in East Kalimantan, Aceh and Southeast Sulawesi.
The Kalamur Group ranks 10th on the list, covering 649,000 hectares of forest area.(gis)