Soeharto's daughter undergoes questioning for five hours
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)