The Texmaco explosion
The Texmaco explosion
The most impressive feature of the Texmaco affair to most
observers perhaps has been, as it were, the lightning speed with
which Attorney General Marzuki Darusman reacted to a report of
suspected financial and political collusion on a grand scale. The
report was submitted by a state minister and was thought to have
implicated highly placed banking authorities and former president
Soeharto himself.
The attorney general took only a few seconds to throw his
weight behind the minister. Other reactions were equally swift
and varied. Texmaco lawyers accused the attorney general of
discrimination, while others saw it as a political conspiracy to
take over Texmaco's businesses. The minister's own party -- the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) --
immediately voiced support for the state minister of investment
and state enterprises.
Unbelievably, the Texmaco boss admitted he had indeed written
a letter to Soeharto asking for assistance for his ailing
company, which is known to have secured huge export orders.
Soeharto, being a good friend of the Texmaco owner, responded
with a positive note (submitted as proof to the attorney
general).
The giant industrial conglomerate has become the backbone of
Indonesia's foreign exchange earnings and the country cannot
afford to halt its operations, which involves thousands of
workers and local suppliers. Fortunately, a golden middle way has
now been found in that the political aspect (Soeharto) will be
dealt with by President Abdurrahman Wahid, the criminal aspect
(misappropriation of state funds) by the attorney general and the
financial aspect will be tackled by the finance minister. Is the
present attorney general of a tougher breed than his
predecessors? Hopefully so.
If the Texmaco side admits to wrongdoing it would be natural
that its owner should bear the consequences, but the company's
business activities and exports of machinery and automotive parts
and the like should be allowed to continue so that it can pay
back its debt under the rescheduling scheme.
There are ministers in the present Cabinet, especially the
younger and idealistic, who cannot stand to see whatever abuse
they discover now and in the past, without bringing it into the
open in line with the new spirit of transparency and clean
governance. It is not just lip service, as was common in the New
Order, but it is truly an obsession on their part, for they
believe that honor, honesty, personal integrity and
trustworthiness should not be mere political gimmicks if this
nation is to earn its due respect.
GANDHI SUKARDI
Jakarta