Time to return ill-gotten gains

Time to return ill-gotten gains

From Merdeka

I agree to the demand made by many quarters to the effect that
the wealth of the Soehartos must be investigated and returned to
the people, especially now that Probosutedjo, as the "spokesman"
of the Soeharto clan, has given the green light on condition that
everything should be done pursuant to the law.

Of course, justice will be better served if a probe is also
made into the fortunes of the families of other officials, who
amassed as much wealth as possible before being "weaned" by the
Soeharto administration. Also to be investigated should be the
families of non-government officials, certain people known to be
very close to the businesses run by the Soehartos.

If the probe into and the return of the wealth take place
concurrently and also voluntarily, this sympathetic gesture will
not only allay the anger and envy of common people at large but
also help restore the national economy. As we are all aware, all
this wealth has been used mainly for political purposes, in the
sense of playing with national politics and using the money at
their disposal.

According to the Center for Data of Indonesian Business, the
wealth accumulated by the Soeharto family is estimated to reach
Rp 200 trillion. The amount would certainly be even greater if
assets owned by the families referred to earlier are included.

Regarding the probe into and the return of the wealth to the
people, an independent agency must be set up to carry out a
series of activities from the probe through to its return to the
people. Members of this independent agency must be qualified
people free from corruption, collusion and nepotism.

An important thing to remember in regard to the fortunes
amassed by the Soehartos and others is that a good control system
and a fine check-and-balance mechanism must be put to work to
ensure there will be no room for corrupt, collusive and
nepotistic practices in future.

It is necessary to adopt a system that imposes harsh sanctions
on those engaged in corrupt, collusive and nepotistic practices
to ensure that the perpetrators will be deterred and other people
will be discouraged from committing the same acts.

UMAR ABDUH

Jakarta