'Time' report a slap on govt face

'Time' report a slap on govt face

JAKARTA (JP): Observers said on Monday that Time magazine's
report on the Soeharto family's wealth was a "slap on the
government's face" and urged Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib to
immediately take follow-up action.

"The disclosure is quite a bombshell and what the government
should do is invite the magazine to enlighten the government on
its findings," leading human rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman
told The Jakarta Post.

"Although the figure (given by the magazine) may be
astronomical and almost unbelievable, I think what needs to be
done is not to argue whether this is valid or not, but to get in
touch with the magazine immediately," Marzuki, who is also deputy
chairman of the ruling Golkar party, added.

The weekly discloses in its latest issue that former president
Soeharto and his children amassed a US$15 billion fortune during
his 32-year rule.

It says the Soehartos' fortune includes $9 billion in cash
that was transferred from a bank in Switzerland to another bank
in Austria shortly after the former ruler was forced from office
in May last year.

The magazine reported the Soeharto family's $15 billion wealth
comprised cash, shares, corporate assets, real estate, jewelry
and fine arts -- including works by masters Affandi and Basoeki
Abdullah in the collection of Prabowo Subianto's wife Siti
Hediati Hariyadi, the middle daughter known as "Titiek".

"This requires the government to take action as soon as
possible," Marzuki said, adding that failure to do so would
undermine the government's credibility.

Inaction would also make it very difficult for the government
"to convince the public that this is a government that should be
continuing the job in the future".

The controversial probe into Soeharto's wealth has dragged on
since June last year. Legal experts and pro-reformists have
accused Habibie and Ghalib of deliberate foot-dragging.

Time said some of Ghalib's staff members are not convinced the
investigation is serious. It quoted an official at the Attorney
General's Office as saying that "Ghalib is on a mission to
protect Soeharto".

Soeharto asserted in a private television interview last year
that he did not have a single cent in foreign banks and he
challenged the government and the general public to trace
whatever wealth he possessed overseas.

In February Ghalib said the initial findings of an
investigation by the Attorney General's Office and the foreign
affairs ministry had failed to find any wealth or assets
belonging to Soeharto abroad.

"(The disclosure) again amplified the limitation of the
Attorney General's Office and therefore it is high time that the
government establish a separate commission to look into the
matter," Marzuki said.

Faisal Tadjuddin, the secretary-general of an anti-corruption
campaign called the Movement of Concerned Citizens over State
Assets, said the magazine's findings was akin to "a slap on
Ghalib's face", given that he had said Soeharto did not have any
foreign assets.

Perception

Teten Masduki of the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) said
the latest revelation had strengthened public perception that the
Attorney General's Office had not been serious and was incapable
of doing its job.

"Ghalib should not be trusted anymore, and it is impossible
for the Attorney General's Office to only rely on the foreign
ministry to search for Soeharto's foreign assets which might have
already been laundered," Teten told the Post.

Teten, who advocates political solutions rather than legal
processes to end the controversial probe into Soeharto's alleged
corruption, said the government should start thinking of
soliciting foreign assistance in the matter.

In March, Marzuki suggested the present government should not
force itself to continue the probe, saying the complicated matter
was far beyond its capacity.

Juan Felix Tampubolon, one of Soeharto's lawyers, maintained
that Soeharto had no assets abroad. He also spoke of the
possibility of filing a lawsuit against the magazine.

"The report is baseless, and if it is not proven we might file
a lawsuit against Time," Juan told the Post.

Opposition presidential candidate Amien Rais urged Soeharto's
lawyers to go ahead with the suit.

He expressed belief Time would then provide data "and then it
would be even easier later to secure the return of most of the
money for the people of Indonesia".

Time's cover story titled "Soeharto Inc." capped what the
magazine claims to be the most comprehensive, four-month
investigation of the Soeharto family wealth, involving hundreds
of interviews by its correspondents in 11 countries.

"We still can not make any comment, because we have not
received a copy of the magazine yet, and we need to study the
validity of the report first before making any decision,"
spokesman for the Attorney General's Office Soehandoyo said on
Monday. (byg)