Bagus T. Saragih and Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta/Beijing – Following intense allegations by the opposition of graft in the recent purchase of Sukhoi jet fighters, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has threatened to expose alleged markups in similar purchases made during president Megawati Soekarnoputri's administration.
Yudhoyono said he would not hamper any investigation into alleged markups in the procurement provided it included the entire purchasing process dating back to before he took office in 2004.
"I understood what happened at the time [regarding the procurement], but did not want to delve into the past," said Yudhoyono late Saturday in Beijing before departing for Hong Kong on an official visit. "However, since this issue has been brought up, I say go ahead and investigate it, in its entirety from when we first procured the jets."
Civic groups and lawmakers, led by House of Representatives' Commission I deputy chairman Maj. Gen. (ret.) Tubagus Hasanuddin of Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), have launched a campaign to oppose the purchase due to alleged markups and corruption.
In December 2011, the government proceeded with the purchase of six Sukhoi Su-30MKKs worth US$470 million to complete the Air Force's Sukhoi squadron. However, critics have alleged the price was $50 million more than the price published by JSC Rosoboronexport, Russia's state company authorized to sell the jets.
The government first procured the Russian-made Sukhoi jets in 2003 under Megawati's administration, in which Yudhoyono was the coordinating political and security affairs minister, and as such he would have been familiar with the early processes of the purchase.
During that time, the deal was also plagued by graft allegations as it was not approved by the House and was not made through the Defense Ministry. Only a few officials were involved in the deal, including Megawati, then Military (TNI) commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and trade minister Rini Soewandi. Endriartono is known nowadays as a harsh critic of Yudhoyono's administration.
Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam, who is accompanying Yudhoyono on the overseas trip, said that the procurement under Megawati had violated numerous norms and laws.
"We bought four jets using a controversial countertrade deal in which Russia was to receive crude palm oil (CPO) as payment," said Dipo, who was then deputy to the coordinating economic minister. "However, in the end, it was money from the state budget that was used for the payment not from the CPO, which I never believed would work in the first place," he said.
According to Dipo, the payment was made using the tactical budget, which was allocated for disaster management, and the payment process was "sophisticated".
Yudhoyono urged law-enforcement agencies to take the entire Sukhoi issue seriously as it had been going on for weeks and had misled the public. "If there has been a recent violation in the purchase, any officials involved should be punished. But officials who served in the past should also be held accountable for any wrongdoing," said Yudhoyono, whose relations with Megawati remain strained after he decided to run against her as president in 2004.
Lawmaker Hasanuddin, former presidential military secretary during Megawati's tenure, said he and fellow lawmakers perceived Yudhoyono's statement not as a threat but as an encouragement to dig deeper into the alleged corruption.
"We were never involved in any corruption in the original purchase of the Sukhoi. Yudhoyono should be careful what he wishes for, he might just get it," he warned.