Anita Rachman – Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, the controversial former chief of detectives at the National Police, has found an ally in a group of nongovernmental organizations critical of the government's 2008 bailout of Bank Century.
Petisi 28, a group of several NGOs, on Sunday called on people to support Susno, whom they called an important man who could help reveal the truth about the Rp 6.7 trillion ($737 million) bailout. Haris Rusly, the head of Petisi 28, said Susno, who also served as deputy of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), likely had key information about the bailout scandal.
"He is one of the figures who knows many things involved with the scandal, and he needs both political and moral support. We expect that the people will give him the support," Haris said after holding a news conference in Jakarta.
Susno participated in the conference via telephone from Palembang, South Sumatra.
Petisi 28 was founded in October. It has also demanded that Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati step down for their roles in the bailout.
Susno has claimed that the National Police were looking for ways to retaliate against him after he alleged that three high-ranking police officials received bribes to halt an investigation into the suspicious bank accounts of Gayus Tambunan, a mid-level official at the Finance Ministry's Directorate General of Taxation. The National Police rejected his claims.
Boni Hargens, a University of Indonesia political analyst, said Susno was being disowned by the National Police, leaving the activists as his only allies.
"He is an asset because he has much data on 'case brokers,' particularly because he is the former chief of detectives – he was in the kitchen of the criminal cases," he said.
He said Susno should be guarded and that corruption allegations against him should be overlooked as long as he provides useful information for the sake of justice. "We will never see that as a problem," he said.
A divided House of Representatives this month declared that the bailout was illegal and recommended that law enforcement agencies investigate indications of corruption, as well as any officials deemed responsible for the bailout.
"Case brokers within the National Police is an important issue to be solved, but most important of all, he knows things about Century," Haris said. "Our intention is to reveal how the Bank Century case has disadvantaged people," he added.
He said it was up to Susno himself to show that he is somehow "clean," although Petisi 28 was supporting Susno at the moment. Haris said the group did not have any interest in whether Susno's objective in going public on case brokers is personal. "We don't have a problem with that," he said.