TEMPO No. 49/VIII/05-11 August, 2008 Cover Story A Question of Authority
Hamka Yandhu's testimony on the Bank Indonesia bribery case involving legislators has placed two cabinet ministers-Paskah Suzetta and Malem Sambat Kaban-close to the edge. President Yudhoyono is summoning them this week. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ON Tuesday, 8am, June 10, Paskah Suzetta walked alone across the courtyard of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building at Rasuna Said, South Jakarta. "I didn't bring my aide, no bodyguard, no secretary," said Paskah, 55, at the end of last week. That morning, not following his usual routine, this State Minister for National Development Planning even drove his own car. Five hours later Paskah made a speedy exit. Scores of reporters, who were waiting for him at the front entrance, trailed behind. He had arrived that day in connection with a bribery case of Rp100 billion from the Indonesian Banking Development Foundation in 2003. The KPK suspects that Bank Indonesia (BI) had already given part of these funds, Rp31.5 billion, to the House of Representatives (DPR) Finance and Banking Commission. Five people have been charged in relation to this case. Former BI Governor, Burhanuddin Abdullah and two of his subordinates, Rusli Simandjuntak and Oey Hoey Tiong, were detained last February. Two months later, two DPR members during that period, Antony Zeidra Abidin and Hamka Yandhu, were also taken into custody. Not many people know that Paskah has been summoned by the KPK on two occasions. He was questioned when this case was still in the investigation phase. However, he refused to mention what he was asked about. "At this time I cannot say what questions were asked," said Paskah. It was the testimony of Hamka Yandhu, Paskah's fellow Golkar Party member, which got the KPK interested in questioning the Minister for a second time. Hamka, a former Chairman of the DPR's Finance Sub-Commission during the last term of office, did indeed "squeal" during questioning. According to Hamka, Paskah is the central figure in this scandal. He was the one who allegedly arranged which DPR factions would receive the central bank funds, and in what amounts. Paskah himself supposedly pocketed Rp1 billion. "I personally handed over the money," said Hamka, testifying in the Rusli and Oey case at the Corruption Court early last week. Hamka's testimony, which was published in various media outlets, led the public to pressure President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) to at least suspend the ministers suspected of being involved. On Monday this week the President will reportedly ask clarifications from Paskah and Forestry Minister, Malem Sambat Kaban, who is also said to be involved. The fate of these two prominent politicians now depends on the outcome of the meeting at the State Palace. l l l HAMKA Yandhu is not the only one who revealed Paskah's role in this case. Similar testimony also came from former Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Aulia Pohan. Questioned by the KPK in early February, Aulia revealed that Paskah took the initiative to give money to the DPR. He was the one who urged the central bank to provide the funds if they wanted their interests to be accommodated by the legislature. "If you want it resolved, there are costs attached to it, because the DPR's budget is limited," said Aulia, quoting Paskah's demands. However, in court in mid-July, Aulia withdrew this testimony. Another witness who mentioned Paskah was Anwar Nasution, a former Senior Deputy Governor at Bank Indonesia. When giving evidence at a hearing on the Burhanuddin case, two weeks ago, Anwar said one suspect in this case, Antony Zeidra Abidin, visited him around 2005. "At that time, Antony told me that Paskah Suzetta had also received money from Bank Indonesia," he said. Antony has consistently denied being involved in this scandal. Because there is only one witness who has openly made charges, the KPK is unable to name Paskah a suspect. "If we find additional evidence, we will look into it," KPK Deputy Chairman Chandra Hamzah told reporters. Paskah is convinced that he is innocent. "My conscience tells me that I am right," he said. l l l PASKAH Suzetta has been in the DPR longer than other members. He was first elected as a legislator for the West Java electoral district in 1992. At that time, this Golkar activist entered the race through Kosgoro, the Mutual Assistance Multipurpose Cooperative. When reelected for a fourth term in 1999, Paskah had a nice position in the Finance and Banking Commission, known to be very "lucrative." Last week, a Tempo source who was also a member of this Commission related how Paskah deftly set up and executed his agenda to get the KPK to decide in his favor. For instance, when deciding on who would become committee chairman, he cleverly negotiated everyone who could secure the interests of his party. "Just give this Commission Chairman seat to Golkar, and later you will be able to get a seat on the budget committee," said one source, imitating Paskah making a deal. Paskah himself has given little comment regarding his exploits in the legislature. All of his colleagues in the DPR recognized his exceptional political ability. It was no surprise that he became an important figure in the Finance Commission. His close friends in the KPK often called him Mamang, which means "uncle" in the Sundanese language. "We'll go with whatever Mamang says," was often heard during debates on various topics. Paskah had his own following in the DPR's Finance Commission. Hamka Yandhu and Antony Zeidra Abidin, two suspects in this case, are part of Paskah's inner circle of friends. In addition to these two, several members from other party factions were often close to him. This clique of his often met in the special area reserved for committee leaders, near the Finance Commission meeting room inside the Nusantara I Building, at the DPR complex in Senayan. According to a Tempo source, they talked about a number of things there, including "dividing up the shares." A DPR member who often stopped by the room was given a unique nickname: Pak Aya. Somehow, he often asked about his "share" albeit jokingly. Every time he entered Paskah's office, he would usually yell questioningly "Aya?", which means "Is there [anything for me]?" in Sundanese. Paskah denied this. "All DPR members have equal standing. No one is higher than anyone else," he said. He also denied he was an influential figure in the DPR Finance Commission at that time. l l l BURHANUDDIN Abdullah was chosen as Bank Indonesia Governor in May 2003, following a vote in the DPR's Finance and Banking Commission. He received 34 votes, while his nearest competitor, Miranda Swaray Goeltom, only received 18 votes. At that time the Golkar faction supported Burhanuddin. When the candidates presented their vision and mission for the bank, Burhanuddin stated his intent to clear up all of the old problems at the bank. Everyone understood that he was talking about resolving BI's two main problems at that time: diverting the Rp144.5 trillion burden of Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance funds (BLBI) and the amendment to the Law on Bank Indonesia. These two matters had been haunting the central bank since 2000, affecting its performance. Actually, the first problem of the BLBI payment burden could have been settled three years earlier. At that time, the Department of Finance had already approved a payment-sharing scheme offered by Bank Indonesia. Of the total BLBI repayment obligation of Rp144.5 trillion, the central bank would only have to bear a total of Rp24.5 trillion. The remainder would have to be paid by the government. However, this approval came with a price: the government asked that all of the remaining BI Deputy Governors resign at once. The then BI Governor, Syahril Sabirin, was in jail. All members of the board of governors agreed to resign except Aulia Pohan. As a result, the plan to take care of the BLBI funds repayment fell apart. The fate of the amendment to the Law on Bank Indonesia was not much different. The Amendment Special Committee had been formed in 2000 and was headed by Theo Toemion, a politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). In less than a year, a draft of the amendment was completed. But it was not to be. When it was up for enactment, the International Monetary Fund, which oversaw the Indonesian economy at that time, objected. The draft of the amendment was abandoned. Burhanuddin wanted to settle these long-standing problems. The results? Miraculous. Just a month after he was appointed, in early July 2003, the legislature approved Bank Indonesia's request to divert the entire BLBI repayment obligation to the government. Five months later, in December 2003, the amendment to the BI Law was passed by the DPR. A number of crucial proposals of the central bank, such as the need for input from the BI Governor in the nomination of deputy governors, limiting the function of the BI board of supervision, and delaying the establishment of the Financial Services Authority, all passed without a problem. The KPK suspects that the smooth deliberations on these two important issues had something to do with bribes from Bank Indonesia to the legislature during that period. l l l A NUMBER of witnesses said that the Rp31.5 billion from Bank Indonesia was given to Hamka and Antony Zeidra Abidin in cash without a receipt. This eliminated a paper trail. However, a Tempo source at Bank Indonesia explained that the central bank actually has a mechanism to ensure that its money is used properly. The method is simple: payment is always made in two stages. The first payment is always half of the amount of funds requested. The rest is released only after a political decision-requested by Bank Indonesia-passes at a DPR plenary meeting. Take the BLBI burden as an example. According to the files of witnesses, DPR members set a fee of Rp15 billion to resolve these pressing issues. After the request was approved by the BI board of governors, Rp2 billion was disbursed on June 27, 2003. After that, Rp5.5 billion was disbursed on July 2, 2003. The next day, the political decision to resolve the BLBI funds was passed at a DPR plenary session, just as Bank Indonesia wanted. Only then was the remaining Rp7.5 billion disbursed to the legislators, on July 23, 2003. True, Paskah was never involved in the meetings between Bank Indonesia and the DPR to deliberate the specifics on how the bribe was to be handed over. Only Antony and Hamka were almost always present in this regard. Even so, testifying to KPK investigators, Hamka said he always asked for permission from Paskah first before heading out. According to him, Paskah always allowed him to go. "Yes, just go," said Hamka, quoting Paskah. l l l OTHER testimonies implicating Paskah came from people at Bank Indonesia. In August 2005, BI Director of Internal Supervision, Lukman Bunjamin, said that he met with Paskah Suzetta at Le Meridien Hotel, in Jakarta. At that time, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) had just released their findings on the improper accounting of Rp100 billion at the Indonesian Banking Development Foundation. This finding was a result of Lukman's KPK questioning, which is now kept in Lukman's file at the KPK. At the meeting, said Lukman, Paskah asked the BI Governor to meet with the BPK, to seek a mechanism to resolve the problem. A Tempo source at the BPK verified that this meeting did take place. BI Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah attended the meeting wherein BPK Chairman Anwar Nasution urged Paskah and Burhanuddin to resolve the case before they ended up being reported to the KPK. How were they to do this? "I asked them to return the Rp100 billion," said Anwar. They did not take his offer and now Burhanuddin is behind bars. Paskah did not fare as badly as Burhanuddin, but he now stands very close to the edge. Wahyu Dhyatmika
