Sutiyoso pledges to disclose wealth
Sutiyoso pledges to disclose wealth
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso on Friday joined public calls
for a wider investigation into corruption among past and present
government officials and said he would soon hand over details of
his private wealth to the government.
However, the list detailing his fortune will remain sheltered
from public scrutiny, he added.
The right to open the files belongs only to his superior in
the bureaucracy, in this case the Minister of Home Affairs,
Sutiyoso said.
"If there is a suggestion that I have been guilty of
malfeasance, my superior will open the files on my wealth and
begin to probe me," the governor told reporters after attending a
ceremony to install the new West Jakarta mayor in office.
He said details of officials' wealth would be positive, only
if used by the right people to prove allegations of corruption.
"Revealing details to the public might not give the right
impression and could cause widespread anxiety," the former
Jakarta Military commander said.
The list will detail his wealth before he was appointed
governor to enable investigators to determine whether he has
added to his net worth through illegal means during his term in
office.
Calls to investigate corruption among officials who served
under former president Soeharto, including President Habibie,
have been growing since Soeharto appeared on television on Sept.
6 to deny that he amassed a fortune worth trillions of rupiah
during his tenure in office.
Giving no details of when he planned to submit the details and
who would be assigned to double check his statement, Sutiyoso
said he would also ask senior officials in the city
administration to follow his lead in an attempt to root
corruption out of the bureaucracy.
"I will also make my officials observe this procedure. If I am
given guardianship of the details of their wealth, I will protect
them (the details) because they are secret," he said.
He said the public should have faith in the authorities'
determination to take stern action against crooked officials.
Presidential Decree No. 52/1970 stipulates that government
officials, including Armed Forces officers, ministers and
governors, are obliged to fill a two-page form detailing their
private wealth on an annual basis. The form must be submitted to
their superiors by August of each year at the latest.
The list is supposed to be secret and can only be scrutinized
by authorized officials. The first page is submitted to either
the President or the official's superior. The second page is
retained as a private document.
The decree remained unenforced during Soeharto's 32 year rule.
(ivy)