Something's wrong with Raudlatul Jannah
Something's wrong with Raudlatul Jannah
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Witnesses confirmed on Monday irregularities found in the
establishment of Raudlatul Jannah, an Islamic foundation
appointed to organize a fictitious charity project in 1999.
Most of the eight witnesses testified before the panel of
judges, which tried the three defendants in the Rp 40 billion
(US$4 million) corruption scandal involving funds of the State
Logistics Agency (Bulog). They were Golkar Party chairman Akbar
Tandjung, the Foundation's chairman Dadang Sukandar and Winfried
Simatupang, a contractor hired for the project. The witnesses
testified that unusual procedures were found in the processing of
documents for the establishment of the foundation.
Public Notary Kartono told the Central Jakarta District Court
judges that he had certified the foundation's notarial document
on Dec. 10, 1997, when he still resided in Subang, West Java,
while the office of the foundation and the residences of all of
its 10 founding members were located in Jakarta.
He said the foundation had started with merely Rp 10 million
of capital with a mission "to help the government in social
affairs, such as donating aid to people suffering from natural
disasters or to help build mosques". The foundation was granted
the authority to disburse Rp 40 billion-worth of government-
sponsored funds in the social safety net (JPS) program.
On April 4, 2001, Dadang -- then Kartono's colleague in the
Bangun Cipta real estate developer -- witnessed the changing of a
document based on the results of a meeting at which most members
of the foundation's board of management had resigned.
But head of Petojo Selatan subdistrict in Central Jakarta Nur
Zein denied that the meeting, held at his office, had discussed
the change of the foundation's name or the resignation of the
board's members.
The panel of judges also questioned the credibility of the
foundation's vice chairman, the late Dadi Suryadi, who was
assigned to become the project's chief officer.
Other witnesses, including Dadi's brother Supriyanto, said the
so-called chief project officer was a driver for a reputable
Jakarta-based taxi company and was never known to have been
involved in other activities, including being a member of the
foundation.
The witnesses also said that it was Akbar who had appointed
the foundation to run the project after listening to Dadang and
Winfried's presentation at his office.
The judges adjourned the trial until next Monday, saying that
former president B.J. Habibie, who had given instructions for the
implementation of the social project, was scheduled to testify in
court as a witness.