Suspicious bedfellows

Suspicious bedfellows

It is perfectly legitimate for members of the House of Representatives, including Taufik Kiemas of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction, to visit factories. It was, therefore, technically legal for Kiemas and a number of other House members to visit Indonesia's largest petrochemical plant, PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Center some time ago.

The visit has left people wondering, however, because Kiemas is the president's husband while Chandra Asri is controlled by tycoon Prajogo Pangestu. In what context was the visit made? Of course, this visit could not be construed as just a get-together for a cup of tea. It heavily reeked of political nuances because the problems in which Chandra Asri is embroiled in, have from the very beginning, heavily smacked of politics.

Megawati and Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi also discussed Chandra Asri when the two met. Understandably, Marubeni Corp, Prajogo's partner in this business undertaking, is one of Japan's largest trading houses. Prajogo himself is known to be very close to the center of power, dating back to Soeharto's administration and up to the present.

It is, at this point, that some parties have begun to play the Pertamina card as it is the only domestic company that can provide raw materials for Chandra Asri.

However, Pertamina's participation must be based on profit-and-loss considerations, and not because of the ruling power's intervention in order to save one particular business group. Pertamina is ready to supply raw materials to Chandra Asri for a long time purely to make profits without any intervention from any parties.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta