Treatment of Sri Bintang questioned
Treatment of Sri Bintang questioned
JAKARTA (JP): As police questioned legislator Sri Bintang
Pamungkas yesterday, his colleagues in the House of
Representatives debated about the way the authorities were
treating him.
Bintang has complained that his interrogators did not produce
the necessary documentation from President Soeharto authorizing
them to carry out their questioning.
The United Development Party (PPP) representative has been
accused of tarnishing Soeharto's name in lectures he gave in
several German cities around the same time the President was
visiting Germany.
Only recently was it discovered that Soeharto never signed the
document. Instead, it was signed by Minister/State Secretary
Moerdiono on behalf of the president.
Law no. 13/1970 stipulates that police must have the
President's approval before questioning any House representative.
Handjojo Putro of the Indonesian Democratic Party sympathized
with Bintang and questioned the authority of Moerdiono in signing
such a document. "If the President was preoccupied, then it
should have been signed by the vice president."
Handjojo also questioned the rapid way the police changed
their course during the investigation. Bintang was first
investigated for his alleged participation in an anti-Indonesia
demonstration in Germany, and later questioned about his
lectures.
"It leaves the impression that police are making up the
accusations," he said. "They should have conducted a thorough
investigation first before summoning Bintang."
Oka Mahendra of the dominant faction Golkar recalled that
Moerdiono signed similar documents in the past on behalf of the
President giving police the authorization to question legislators
over criminal cases.
Oka said he believed that House members are not immune to the
law and should not be given special treatment, adding that the
1970 law might need revising to make it "more egalitarian."
Not surprisingly, Bintang did not have the support of his own
faction in the House.
Jusuf Sjakir of the PPP faction said that the 1970 law only
stipulates that there must be presidential approval. "There is no
mention of having it in writing. Therefore, approval can be given
orally or in writing."
Meanwhile, PPP chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum said that
Bintang has not made a single contribution to the party's cause
since being elected to the House in 1992.
"Outside the party, Bintang always talked about advancing the
party, but he never presented a single proposal or concept to the
party's central executive board to that end," Ismail Hasan was
quoted by Antara news agency as saying yesterday.
Bintang, a lecturer at the prestigious University of
Indonesia, was one of the few intellectuals the PPP managed to
recruit to bolster its image ahead of the election.
His outspokenness on various issues was expected to draw the
support of young and first-time voters and he was duly rewarded
with a seat in the House after the election.
The PPP managed to better its performance slightly in the 1992
elections, raising its tally of votes from 16 to 17 percent and
staying just ahead of the Indonesian Democratic Party, which
polled 15 percent of the votes.
Bintang's presence in the House of Representatives, however,
put the party in jeopardy for some of his remarks, which, for
example, touched on the role of the Armed Forces.
He increasingly became a liability to the party and in March
this year Ismail Hasan initiated a move to have him removed from
the House of Representatives.
The proposal was already endorsed by the House's leadership
and is still awaiting final approval from President Soeharto.
Confident that the approval from the head of state is simply a
matter of time, Ismail Hasan has announced that Hadimulyo, a
party activist, will fill the House seat to be vacated by
Bintang.
When the report alleging Bintang's involvement in the German
protests surfaced last month, Ismail Hasan was quick to issue an
apology to the President and the public. (swe/emb)