Trade minister faces sanctions

JAKARTA: The House of Representatives (DPR) said it would hand down sanctions against Minister of Trade and Industry Rini Soewandi if she failed to fulfill the second summons for questioning over her role in the purchase of Sukhoi jet fighters.

"We expect her to turn up this time," said chairman of House Commission I for defense Ibrahim Ambong on the sidelines of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Annual Session on Saturday.

Ibrahim chairs the House working committee of inquiry into alleged irregularities in the warplane deal.

He said the sanction would be in the form of a quarantine, as stipulated in the law on the composition of legislative bodies, endorsed by the House last month. It would automatically come into force on Aug. 10 if President Megawati Soekarnoputri failed to sign it within the next few days.

Ibrahim said the House working committee would send a second summons to Rini after the MPR session finished on Aug. 10.

The first hearing was scheduled for July 29 but was canceled by the committee at the request of Ibrahim, who was overseas at the time. --Antara