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