Sumarlin 'appears' again

JAKARTA (JP): Former finance minister J.B. Sumarlin denied yesterday that his three week absence from the country had anything to do with the ongoing official investigation of the blossoming Rp 1.3 trillion ($620 million) bank scandal.

Sumarlin said he was in Kyrgyzstan on an assignment from the World Bank to help with the economic reformation in the former Soviet republic.

"I have not been ill as some press reports have suggested," he told reporters after informing President Soeharto about his trip at Bina Graha.

A number of newspapers have speculated that Sumarlin had taken a leave of absence because of the official investigation of the scandal at Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo).

Others suggested that he was sick and undergoing medical treatment in Germany.

Sumarlin, now the chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), made his first public appearance since his return from Kyrgyzstan yesterday.

There have been suggestions that Sumarlin pressured the directors of Bapindo to extend a series of loans to Eddy Tansil and his Golden Key Group, that have since turned sour.

While it is now almost certain the loans were improperly approved, it remains unclear how high the level of official involvement extends.

Yesterday all questions about Sumarlin's role in the loan scandal were interrupted by Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono.

When asked whether he had supported the extension of the $430 million to the Golden Key Group, Moerdiono quickly took over the floor and said that Sumarlin had already given his answers in writing to the Attorney General's office, which is conducting the investigation.

"Today, we don't discuss the substance," Moerdiono said.

On another occasion, Moerdiono even went so far as to "correct" a reporter for asking questions.

The briefing was closed when he half-jokingly told Sumarlin "I think you'd better go."

25 questions

Sumarlin, during the few times he was allowed to speak, said he recalled there were about 25 questions posed in writing by the Attorney General's office.

Asked whether he was willing to testify in court, Sumarlin responded "From the beginning, I have supported the Attorney General's steps in handling the case thoroughly. Whatever is needed of me, I'm ready."

Sumarlin is just one of three former top government officials who have been implicated in the Bapindo scandal.

The other two are Sudomo, former coordinating minister of political affairs and security, and Nasruddin Sumintapura, former junior finance minister. Sudomo is now chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council and Nasruddin is one of its 45 members.

All three have apparently been questioned by the Attorney General's office, but only as witnesses to help investigators build their case against the six suspects thus far detained.

Moerdiono said yesterday that given their current positions, the Attorney General needed the consent of President Soeharto to question them, which has been granted.

Sumarlin said yesterday that his trip to Kyrgyzstan had been delayed by one month because of the scandal, as he intended to help with the investigation. He stressed that the trip had been planned before the case became public in January.

Moerdiono added that neither Sumarlin nor Sudomo would need to take a leave of absence to be questioned or testify in court.

Cooperative

On a separate occasion, cooperative leader Sri Edi Swasono urged the government yesterday to postpone the payment of the bankers' acceptances issued for Golden Key.

Sri Edi, who is also an executive of the Association of Indigenous Entrepreneurs, said that since the loans were issued in contravention of banking rules, the bankers acceptances should be treated as invalid.

Government officials have made strong assurances that they will take all steps necessary to see that the debts are paid on time, arguing that non-payment of the important international banking instruments could cause the nation's credit rating to plummet

Some $350 million of such acceptances mature this month and the government has been considering various ways of raising money to bail out Bapindo, which is technically broke.

Sri Bintang was speaking yesterday after meeting with Deputy Attorney General for Special Crime A. Sutomo, who is leading the investigation. (02/emb)