Tracing the wealth of the Soehartos and their cronies

Tracing the wealth of the Soehartos and their cronies

Harta Jarahan Harto (Soeharto's Plunder);
George Junus Aditjondro;
Pustaka Demokrasi, 1998;
97 pp;
Rp 6,000

JAKARTA (JP): Soon after president Soeharto resigned on May
21, 1998, small changes started to take place in Indonesia.

People openly began questioning the origins of Soeharto's
wealth during his 32-year reign. In Jakarta, a number of
committees and community groups were established to probe the
wealth of the Soehartos and their cronies.

During the New Order regime, people did not dare to gossip
about it, let alone question it. Nobody dared to refuse offers
from the first family to cooperate in business. The Jakarta City
Water Company (PDAM), for example, as soon as Soeharto stepped
down, severed its contracts with two drinking water companies
controlled by Sigit Hardjojudanto (the eldest son of the former
president) and his associates and demanded that they return Rp
100 billion to the government.

Pertamina has already announced that the contract with
Soeharto's children to import oil from the Middle East and to
ship oil to Japan, worth trillions of rupiah, will soon be
discontinued.

"We have already made an inventory. There are at least 120
companies linked to former president Soeharto. When the inventory
is completed, the list will be submitted to the minister of mines
and energy," Pertamina managing director Sugianto promised, as
quoted by Prospek magazine on June 15.

The media are vying with each other to probe deepest into the
issue. They may not enjoy Soeharto's wealth, but their
publications are sold out.

The Indonesian Business Data Center (PDBI) estimates
Soeharto's wealth at Rp 200 trillion. But the information has
been rejected by tycoon Probosutedjo who said that his step-
brother "did not own anything".

He added that Soeharto had "some savings for his old age".
Fearing a harmful impact, some companies started washing their
hands of the family, saying that they were not related to the
Soeharto clan as averred by the media.

Current reports say that a huge number of companies belonging
to the Soeharto family have changed hands, which will make it
even harder to trace the Soeharto's involvement later.

To cover their tracks, Soeharto's children and grandchildren
have started relinquishing their positions in various companies.

But how rich is Soeharto? The question is hard to answer for
certain. But at least there is somebody who has, over the last
few years, done some in-depth research into it. Long before PDBI
and the Warta Ekonomi and Prospek magazines disclosed data on
Soeharto's wealth, George Junus Aditjondro had done it.

However, George started probing into Soeharto's wealth in
unsystematic way. He made a study of the Soeharto clan's
businesses in East Timor, Irian Jaya, West Kalimantan, Bali,
etc.. The findings were separately published in various foreign
media such as the Washington Post, the Green Left Weekly and the
West Australian.

In February 1998, the majority of the findings of the study
conducted by the Satya Wacana Christian University lecturer were
circulated in Internet and became a source of reference for local
media in processing the subject.

George "fled" and became a teacher at Newcastle University in
Australia after he was accused of vilifying Soeharto. Parts of
the book under review were published on the Internet.

Apart from his salary as Indonesian president, according to
George who quoted Forbes magazine, Soeharto's wealth amounted to
US$16 billion (much lower than Newsweek's estimate of US$40
billion).

When Soeharto was in power he never denied reports he amassed
US$16 billion. "People understood it as an implicit
acknowledgement. Except toward the end of his reign when he spoke
to the Indonesian community in Turkey" (page 2).

The fortune was obtained in a refined way as if via a natural
process. One hundred and five foundations were involved, all
fully identified by names and activity in the book. It is
difficult to trace Soeharto's wealth because it overlaps with
that of other families, e.g. the families of Liem Sioe Liong, Eka
Tjipta Widjaja, Prajogo Pangestu, Mohamad "Bob" Hasan, the Bakrie
brothers and B.J. Habibie.

George would not be George if he could not conduct valid
research. The lecturer of corruption sociology has divided the
105 foundations into eight groups.

First, the foundations presided over by Soeharto himself.
Second, those chaired or controlled by the late Tien Soeharto.
Third, those led or comanaged by Soeharto's close relatives.
Fourth, those under the direct supervision of Soeharto's
children, children-in-law and grandchildren. Fifth, those owned
by Soeharto's children's parents-in-law and their kin. Sixth,
those run by Soeharto's and his wife's relatives in their home
towns. Seventh, those managed by Soeharto's trusted assistants
such as Habibie, Hasan, Sudomo and Joop Ave. Eighth, a number of
foundations of the Armed Forces strongly involved in Soeharto's
family businesses (page 4).

Which of the 105 foundations are the strongest? The ones which
are financially the strongest are the Dana Abadi Karya Bakti
(Dakab), Dharma Bhakti Sosial (Dharmais) and Supersemar. Two
sizable foundations belonging to the Soeharto family with highly
valued shares are Trikora and Harapan Kita (page 60).

So, what is the total figure of Soeharto's wealth? Nobody
knows for sure except Soeharto and his family, and the treasurers
of the foundations. Former vice-president Sudharmono once
revealed the wealth of four foundations led by Soeharto,
Dharmais, Supersemar, Amal Bhakti Muslim Pancasila (YMAP) and
Dana Abadi Karya Bakti (Dakab), totaling at least Rp 2.5
trillion. Sudharmono said that the amount was "insignificant" for
the state.

Former minister of cooperatives/head of the National Logistics
Agency Bustanil Arifin told the Surabaya Post on July 24, 1994,
that "the four foundations chaired by President Soeharto
personally have now become the richest foundations in the world,
far exceeding the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation
in the U.S." (page 80).

Research conducted by Far Eastern Economic Review
correspondent Michael Vatikiotis in 1990 into three of the four
foundations in 1990 and came up with a value of Rp 325.8 billion:
Supersemar Rp 222 billion, Dharmais Rp 60.8 billion and Dakab Rp
43 billion.

Suara Independen, in its January/February 1996 edition said
that Dharmais' assets totaled Rp 900 billion.

It was those riches that he used to dominate the Indonesian
ruling elite by creating factions in which people vied with and
so balanced each other. It was also because of that wealth that
national politics became so personalized.

It is regrettable that Soeharto never tried to make use of his
abundant wealth to save the nation from bankruptcy. When the
monetary crisis hit the country he even planned to obtain funds
by selling 160 state-owned companies to repay foreign debts. At
least that was what he said on April 21, 1998, in a question-and-
answer session at Batu village, 200 kilometers south of Jakarta.
But, before any company was sold, he was forced to tender his
resignation.

The people who started eying Soeharto's treasures suspected
they came from the people. If Soeharto's riches can really be
traced and recovered, there will probably be no need for IMF
loans. The matter does not only have an important economic
bearing for the people, politically it will liberate Indonesia
from the yoke of tyranny and be conducive to democratization.

Written based on scientific research, George's work is no
cheap read aimed at painting a bleak picture of Soeharto. The
book is worth reading.

It provides a ray of light that illuminates the wealth of
Soeharto, his family and cronies. Anyone investigating the
fortune will also find it useful as a reference source for
evidence.

-- A. Ariobimo Nusantara