Sofjan a faithful supporter of Soeharto: Politician

JAKARTA (JP): Noted 1966 Generation figure Abdul Gafur said yesterday he had no doubts about Sofjan Wanandi's allegiance to President Soeharto.

Gafur was commenting in response to mounting rumors that business tycoon Sofjan had fled the country following a military questioning about his possible involvement in a bomb blast last month.

"I know Sofjan well. We struggled together in 1966 for the establishment of the New Order. Never presume he has betrayed the cause," said Gafur, who is a deputy speaker of the House of Representatives.

"He (Sofjan) is not a traitor. Although he's of Chinese decent, he cannot even speak Chinese. He may have gone overseas to celebrate Chinese New Year."

Gafur said that as far as he knew Sofjan was a faithful supporter of Soeharto, the New Order's founding father, and had contributed a lot to the country.

"If he has a different opinion about the current national leadership, it's his own business. Or if he refuses to exchange his U.S. dollars for rupiah, it does not mean that he does not love the country."

Sofjan was questioned by intelligence officers of the city military command after documents bearing his name were seized at the scene of a bomb explosion in a low-cost apartment building in Tanah Tinggi, Central Jakarta. The incident was blamed on the tiny, banned People's Democratic Party (PRD).

Directorate General of Immigration spokesman M.A. Ghani said Monday that Sofjan left for Sydney on Jan. 27. It is unclear whether the chairman of the Gemala Group has returned home yet.

Gafur said Sofjan should show up and explain the reason for his Australian trip or the public would continue to speculate.

"There is not enough evidence to detain him, but these groundless rumors are mounting only because he has left the country."

He refused to link Sofjan's questioning to a political move to find a scapegoat for the economic turmoil.

"The most likely thing is that some people who dislike him have taken advantage of the (bomb blast) case to knock him down."

Another Deputy House Speaker Syarwan Hamid agreed that this was likely, saying that allegations that Sofjan had funded PRD activities coincided with a lack of public confidence in government policies succeeding in fixing the economic problems.

"That's the way intelligence thinks. It's not enough, however, to take a person to court based on intelligence analysis," Syarwan said.

He said the public might speculate about Sofjan's involvement with the PRD, but suggested they abide by the law.

"Let's just leave the investigation to the authorized institutions. The public must not try him," he said. (amd)