Verdict on PT Jaya Ancol delayed until audit done

Verdict on PT Jaya Ancol delayed until audit done

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration decided on Thursday to
delay the announcement on the fate of PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol
(PJA) director over the Ancol scam which allegedly involved an
overseas trip until a public accountant completes auditing the
firm.

"We expect to have the complete audit within two weeks," head
of the City Economy Development Office Dameria Saragih said after
a hearing with the City Council.

Dameria said the penalty on PJA's director, Rushadi, would be
based on the auditing result, and discussed further through an
extraordinary general meeting of share holders.

Following Governor Sutiyoso's announcement last Friday, a
public accountant was required to appraise the financial record
of the overseas trip. Sutiyoso boasted that he wouldn't hesitate
to dismiss Rushadi if he has too.

However, no decision has been reached to punish the director
of the Ancol leisure complex developer due to the lack of a
public accountant's presence in the PT PJA's extraordinary
shareholder meeting last week.

PT PJA is part of PT Pembangunan Jaya chain, of which more
than 80 percent of its shares are owned by the city
administration. The governor is chief commissioner of the latter
company.

"The decision about the punishment is not the authority of
Governor Sutiyoso as the company's chief commissioner alone,"
said Dameria.

The 1999 Law No. 22 on regional autonomy exempts governor's
involvement as the decision maker in the city-owned company's,
while the 1995 Law No. 1 on private company stipulates
shareholder meetings as the highest authority in the company.

"Following the laws, the governor will step down from his
current position (in the company) soon," said Dameria, adding
that the city administration already had candidates for the
position.

"The one to replace Governor Sutiyoso will probably be from
the City Secretariat" Dameria added.

The overseas trips drew controversy due to allegations that
PJA paid Rp 2.1 billion to fund so-called comparative studies for
a group of 45 people comprising councillors and city officials
between Oct. 9 and Oct. 15. The trips were to three different
destinations -- Cape Town and Johannesburg, Sydney, and Tokyo.
Governor Sutiyoso has confirmed that the fund was disbursed
without his approval as the chief commissioner of the company.

On Wednesday, the city administration announced that sanctions
would be imposed on nine of the 11 city officials investigated in
connection with the controversial Ancol scam. Two high-ranking
officials who had earlier strongly believed to be involved in the
scandal were declared not guilty.

City Inspectorate officer Sudirman said the nine officials,
mostly low-ranking staffers, were found guilty of misuse of funds
and making the trips without the governor's knowledge.

In response to the decision, a city councilor Posman Siahaan
of the Justice and Unity Party (PKP) said the governor should
have cross-checked the result of the investigation into the nine
city officials who had committed the violations.

He questioned Sutiyoso's decision and blamed him for the
process. He speculated about three possibilities behind the
decision.

"First, Sutiyoso just trusted the City Inspectorate with no
reserve. Second, his staffers might try to dishonor him, and the
third, he had no choice but to sacrifice low-ranking staffers,"
said Posman.

Posman added that Sutiyoso should not have established the
Officials' Honorary Council from top city officials, citing
speculation that the Council had a tendency to "protect" its own
"friends" from such allegations.

Asked about the 14 city councillors being investigated by the
Jakarta Prosecutors' Office, Posman said he will await the
decision of the Office. (07/04)