TEMPO No. 40/VII/June 05 - 11, 2007 Cover Story
The Palace and the Funding A number of people in the inner circle of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono admitted receiving illegal funds from the Maritime Affairs Department during the 2004 presidential election. However, Yudhoyono evaded the issue by saying that these people were not a part of the campaign team. Tempo investigations discovered that they were important people who even arranged meetings and discussions with the then presidential candidate. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MUNAWAR Fuad Nuh virtually choreographed the campaign of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) at Islamic boarding schools during the 2004 presidential election. His job was to analyze which kiai (traditional religious figures) should be visited. He also prepared the appropriate dialog and phrasing for SBY to win over the hearts of his hosts. Fuad worked for four types of results for each of Yudhoyono's visits to these Islamic boarding schools. First, and least of all, SBY would be warmly received by the kiai. Second, he would be welcomed by a central kiai. Third, the kiai would be willing to pose for a photo together. Fourth, a kiai would promise to give his support to Yudhoyono. The last one was not easy to come by. At that time the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) organization was supporting Megawati Sukarnoputri, whose running mate was Hasyim Muzadi, the NU Chairman. To be more effective, this 37-year-old even determined when it was necessary for Yudhoyono to kiss the hands of the kiai whom he visited. "For instance, I suggested that SBY meet Gus Dur at his home and kiss his hand upon arriving," said Fuad to Tempo, on Wednesday last week. Now another aspect of Fuad's closeness with Yudhoyono is being spotlighted. Fuad came into the picture several weeks ago when he was mentioned as one of over 1,700 recipients of non-budgeted funds from the Maritime Affairs & Fisheries Department. It is recorded that he received Rp150 million on October 11, 2004. About Rp31 billion of non-budgetary funds had been collected by Maritime Affairs & Fisheries Minister, Rokhmin Dahuri, since 2001, which continued until the arrival of his replacement, Freddy Numberi. Rokhmin is now being brought up on charges, along with the Department's former Secretary-General, Andin H. Taryoto. The funds, which had been collected from businesspersons, were managed by Didi Sadili, former head of the Bureau of General Affairs and Administration of the Directorate General of Maritime Affairs for Small Islands and Coastal Regions. The list of recipients of these illegal funds was revealed in Didi's testimony in court, on Wednesday three weeks ago. He said, among other things, that he issued money to Yudhoyono's campaign team on three occasions. The first Rp200 million was handed over by a special staff member of Minister Rokhmin, Fadhil Hasan alias Pupup. It was not clear who the recipient was. Fadhil was unwilling to provide additional information when Tempo asked for confirmation. "Just follow the trial," he said. According to Didi, there was also Rp150 million which he handed over to Munawar Fuad. The last payout, still according to Didi, was Rp100 million which Rokhmin Dahuri personally handed over to Yudhoyono's campaign team. Didi's records revealed that non-budgeted funds also found their way to the Blora Center, a body supporting Yudhoyono which was formed by Sudi Silalahi-currently the Cabinet Secretary. Other funds went to Imam Addaruqutni, a former Chairman of Muhammadiyah Youth, who in Didi's records, was written as "SBY's team." As widely reported, a number of public figures and politicians were also cited as having received funds intended for fishermen. Among them were former presidential candidate Amien Rais and former vice-presidential candidate Salahuddin Wahid. The two recently admitted receiving the money. Amien accused other presidential teams of receiving the same funds. Amien's statement upset Yudhoyono. Moreover, Amien also indicated that there was even a candidate who received funds from Washington, DC. Yudhoyono felt that this accusation was directed at him personally. In a press conference held in the rear courtyard of the Palace three weeks ago, he denied the charges. Yudhoyono said that he had checked with Jusuf Kalla (JK) and former members of his campaign team about the flow of money from the Maritime Affairs Department. "There is no testimony to support that members of the SBY-JK campaign team received those funds," he said. The President also emphasized that Fuad, Imam Addaruqutni, and the Blora Center were not a part of the SBY-JK campaign team. "I direct you to check with those sources, because I want to be transparent and open so we can find out the truth of the matter," he added. l l l Although Munawar Fuad is not on the membership list of the SBY-JK national campaign team, this does not mean that he did not have a position. Wherever he went, Yudhoyono introduced this former postgraduate student from Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) in Jakarta as a special staff member for social and religious affairs. The special staff team was a unit formed by Yudhoyono to help him get in touch with various social groups during the election campaign. They were usually the advance team and made arrangements for Yudhoyono's visits. Other members of this team included Heru Lelono, Suko Sudarso, M. Lutfi, and Joyo Winoto. Fuad has a rather close personal relationship with Yudhoyono. He says that he had been helping Yudhoyono to become a presidential candidate since 1997. According to him, Yudhoyono had been making preparations far in advance. "Including recruiting people," he added. In 1999, together with Kurdi Mustofa, now the President's personal secretary, Fuad became the editor of Yudhoyono's book, Mengatasi Krisis, Menyelamatkan Reformasi (Overcoming the Crisis, Rescuing Reformation). While on the campaign trail, he put together the books SBY and Islam and 99 Reasons to Vote for SBY for President. "The printing of all these books was paid for by Pak SBY," he said. One thing which Fuad still remembers was when Yudhoyono complained over rumors about him at the Tegalrejo Islamic Boarding School in Magelang. To all of the ulama (religious scholars) of Central Java and Yogyakarta who had gathered there, Yudhoyono said, according to Fuad: "If you want to know more about me, just ask Dik Munawar Fuad." Yahya Ombara, a former member of the SBY-JK election campaign team, said that there were a number of groups close to Yudhoyono but which were outside of the official team. Among them was the special staff team, which according to him was only made official during the second round of the presidential election. During the first round they were known as the Cikeas Team. "They were also often called the Circus Team, because they were always crowding around SBY," he said in the book The Flamboyant President SBY I Know. l l l The question is, was the Rp150 million received by Munawar Fuad used for the Yudhoyono campaign? Fuad said that he received that money to pay for a survey of the coastal communities, which he had been conducting along with Rokhmin since 2000. He said the money was disbursed on October 11, 2004-almost a month after the second round of the presidential election. "That means that my duties as a special staff member for presidential candidate SBY had already ended," he said. A Tempo source said that Rokhmin hoped that he could hold on to his position if Yudhoyono took over for Megawati. To do this, he tried a number of routes in order to get in contact with Yudhoyono's private residence in Cikeas. This included trying to get through via the Munawar Fuad route. In a written statement given to Fuad after this case emerged, Rokhmin stated that the money was purely for professional and social activities. "It was not at all in his capacity as a member of SBY's election campaign team," wrote Rokhmin in a letter of May 12, 2007. Traces of people in Yudhoyono's circles were also recorded on June 11, 2004. On that date is written "Lunch Yasin/SBY" in the amount of Rp2 million. A source who knows about this said that Rokhmin and Lt. Gen. Yasin had lunch at a Japanese restaurant in downtown Central Jakarta. At this meeting, Yasin reportedly asked Rokhmin to help Yudhoyono. Rokhmin agreed and asked Didi Sadili, who at that time had joined them for lunch, to continue the agreement. In the next meeting, according to the source, Didi offered Rp150 million with Yasin. However, this money was considered insufficient and was immediately refused. This former Deputy Coordinating Minister for Political & Security Affairs reportedly said: "It takes Rp1 billion just to elect a subdistrict head. Really, you're only giving SBY Rp150 million?" Yasin denied saying this. He said that he first met Rokhmin at that lunch. "I knew that Pak Rokhmin was from the Mega Center, so it is impossible that I would ask him to help SBY," he said to Tempo. "Moreover, I was not a member of SBY's campaign team." Just like Munawar Fuad, the name of Yasin is not to be found on the list of the SBY-JK campaign team. Yet almost every politician knows that this 1973 graduate of the Indonesian Armed Forces Academy is close to Yudhoyono. "His name was often heard by our team," said Yahya Ombara. Long before the campaign period, Yasin had already become Yudhoyono's main supporter. From October-December 2003, he led the survey team of the Coordinating Department of Political & Security Affairs in order to check on election preparation in every province. Although there were no questions about Yudhoyono, his political opponents suspected that the questionnaires distributed to 26 provinces were designed to measure SBY's popularity. Together with Sudi Silalahi, then the Secretary of the Coordinating Minister of Political & Security Affairs, Yasin also joined in creating the concept of Yudhoyono's public image. Among other things, he took part in a meeting with McLeader, the campaign consulting body which recently came up with the idea of forming the Blora Center. Almost a year after Yudhoyono became President, Yasin was appointed as the Secretary-General of the National Resilience Council. A bit unusual is the appearance of Imam Addaruqutni on the list of fund recipients. In it, Imam is listed as Imam Doruqutni and SBY Team/Qudni. The total amount listed for this name is Rp225 million. To Tempo, Imam said that he had never joined Yudhoyono's team. "No matter how I could have tried to conceal it, if I had joined SBY's team then everybody would surely have known," he said. Sahar L. Hasan, a former deputy chairman of the SBY-JK campaign team, said that he never saw Imam Addaruqutni on the team. He said that it was Nadjamudin Ramly, Imam's subordinate in Muhammadiyah Youth who was often seen with Jusuf Kalla during the second round of the election. Nadjamudin is listed as having received some of the illegal funds from the Department of Maritime Affairs. However, this amount comes to a "mere" Rp40 million. "That money was assistance from Pak Rokhmin for my doctoral studies," said Nadjamudin, who was making the minor pilgrimage to Mecca when contacted by Tempo for confirmation. During the second round of the presidential election campaign, Nadjamudin claimed to be the coordinator of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Youth, a youth organization which supported SBY-JK. He said that he often joined Kalla's entourage because he was invited. l l l >From his detention cell in the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the National >Police, Rokhmin can only listen to the denials being made in the mass media by >the recipients of the funds. At first he hoped that the confessions of the >fund recipients would eliminate the charge that he had committed corruption. Some of Rokhmin's friends are also in custody, such as the Justice & Human Rights Secretary-General, Zulkarnaen Yunus, former CEO of Garuda, Indra Setiawan, and Regent of Kendal, Hendy Boedoro. There are 86 people in this detention center, although its normal capacity is only for 30 persons. To Tempo, on Friday last week, this professor from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture said: "Now I realize that we can not hope for the sincere support of politicians." Budi Setyarso [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
