Tutut set to stay on at toll road company
Tutut set to stay on at toll road company
JAKARTA (JP): The eldest daughter of former president
Soeharto, Siti "Tutut" Hardijanti Rukmana, is set to stay on as
president of the country's largest toll operator Citra Marga
Nusaphala Persada (CMNP).
But following a shareholders meeting yesterday, the company
announced that Tutut's husband Indra Rukmana and Soeharto's
cousin Sudwikatmono had stepped down as the chief commissioner
and commissioner respectively. Former minister of trade and
industry Tunky Ariwibowo has also resigned as a commissioner.
Indra has been replaced by Sofjan Assauri, who earlier served
as commissioner, and Sudwikatmono and Tunky by Dadi Haryadi and
Yusuf Hamka.
"None of the shareholders asked for Tutut's resignation so
that she will remain the president of the company until the year
2002," said CNMP's Director Teddy Kharsadi after the
shareholders' meeting.
As the practices of corruption, collusion and nepotism come
under intense public scrutiny, companies linked to Soeharto's
family and cronies are facing mounting public pressure to sever
ties or clear them from executive boards.
Tutut's brother Bambang Trihatmodjo resigned as president of
the publicly listed diversified business group PT Bimantara Citra
late last month. Earlier this month, he stepped down as
president commissioner of petrochemical company PT Tri Polyta.
In a press conference on Monday, Tutut was defiant that she
would fight to keep CMNP's helm, saying that her
"professionalism" proved she was worthy of the job.
However, she demanded that her comments be embargoed until
after the company's shareholders meeting.
"If the shareholders ask me to step down, I will ask them
whether the request is based on professional or political
reasons.
"If it is for political reasons, I will ask them to reveal it
in a statement so that people know that and they still believe in
my professionalism and give me work."
Tutut believed the company would still fare well in the future
despite the absence of political connections since it had relied
on professionalism from the outset of its operations.
She argued that CMNP landed contracts during her father's 32-
year rule to its professionalism, and not because of sweetheart
deals.
CMNP, established in 1987, operates the 16-kilometer (km) toll
road linking Cawang, East Jakarta, and Tanjung Priok, North
Jakarta, and the 13.13-km toll road connecting Tanjung Priok and
Jembatan Tiga in Pluit, West Jakarta.
CMNP holds 30-year build-operate-transfer contracts until 2019
over the Cawang-Tanjung Priok toll road and until 2025 over the
Tanjung Priok-Jembatan Tiga toll road.
Tutut claimed to have a mere 2.2 stake in CMNP through her
company PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada. The remaining stakes are
owned by the public (39.5 percent), state toll road company Jasa
Marga (17.79), Yayasan Purna Bhakti Pertiwi (11.01), cement
producer Indocement (8.8), transportation company Steady Safe
(7.6), Steady Safe Finance (6.6), state steel producer Krakatau
Steel (6.06) and cooperatives (0.4).
The company is developing several toll road projects in the
country and abroad, including a 237.4-km toll road project in the
Philippines.
But several projects, including the 36.5-km Waru-Tanjung Perak
toll road in East Java, have been put under review by local
authorities who suspected the company had obtained them through
political connections, corruption and collusion.
Tutut said the government had awarded projects to the company
due to its professionalism, instead of political connection.
She said CMNP had hired attorneys to protect it against any
move by the government to unilaterally annul contracts with the
company.
The company said it booked a net profit of Rp 45 billion (US$3
million) for the first quarter of the year, up 49 percent from
the year-ago period.
The shareholders agreed that the company pay a Rp 25 dividend
per share on its 1997 profit. (jsk)