Soeharto's daughter undergoes questioning for five hours

JAKARTA (JP): Siti "Tutut" Hardiyanti Rukmana, the eldest daughter of former president Soeharto, was questioned for five hours at the Attorney General's Office on Tuesday in connection with one of her father's charitable foundations.

After the questioning, Hardiyanti told journalists that she had been summoned as a witness in the investigation into Soeharto as she was treasurer of the Gotong Royong Kemanusiaan Foundation until a decree put it under the control of the government in 1998.

Hardiyanti, who briefly served as minister of social affairs under her father's administration, answered 32 questions posed by state prosecutors Purwanto, Patuan Siahaan and Antasari Azhar.

Her lawyer Amir Syamsuddin said the questions mostly centered around allegations over the misuse of Soeharto's authority in issuing presidential decrees and regulations to amass funds for the foundations.

Amir claimed that the questioning revealed that such decrees did not exist.

"I don't know about other foundations, but there were no decrees made that enabled Gotong Royong Kemanusiaan Foundation to amass funds," he said.

He also denied allegations that some of the foundation's money was used as working capital for certain businessmen, adding that largest amount of its Rp 53 billion was donated to natural disaster victims.

The foundation was established by Soeharto on Aug. 23, 1986, and chaired by his late wife Siti Hartinah. After her death in 1996, Soeharto chaired the foundation.

Without saying whether the questioning had been sufficient, Attorney General's Office spokesman Yushar Yahya later said there was a possibility Hardiyanti may again be summoned.

Yushar also said prosecutors in the Soeharto case were now taking an inventory of the ex-president's properties and assets both in Indonesia and abroad.

Hardiyanti confirmed that an inventory was underway, saying that the office "is only doing what it should do".

"The office is welcome to do so as it is allowed by law. Our family has never intended to hamper the investigation," she added.

In a separate development, former state secretary Moerdiono was also questioned for more than three hours on Tuesday by the Attorney General's Office over the issuing of a presidential recommendation which allowed PT Texmaco to receive massive export loans from the central bank.

The company's owner, Marimutu Sinivasan, was known as a close friend of Soeharto. Marimutu has been declared a suspect in the Texmaco case. (01)