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Habibie targeted in graft inquiries

Source
Sydney Morning Herald - September 19, 1998

Louise Williams, Jakarta – All ministers who served under the former president Soeharto, including President B.J. Habibie, have been ordered to declare their personal wealth ahead of the questioning of Mr Soeharto in the first official investigation into corruption under his regime.

The Justice Minister, Mr Muladi, said: "The mistakes of Soeharto's New Order Government cannot be blamed just on Soeharto alone. All ministers and high-ranking officials under Soeharto must also be investigated. "President Habibie must also fill in the form [declaring his personal assets]."

However, Mr Muladi said the investigation would begin with Mr Soeharto, who is expected to be formally questioned as early as next week, and may be jailed if found guilty of an abuse of power or a criminal act.

Mr Habibie, who is facing worsening social unrest as the economy continues to slide, announced the investigation this week into the assets of Mr Soeharto, once his mentor and best friend. The State Minister, Mr Akbar Tandjung, said: "The [investigation] team is expected to meet Mr Soeharto next week."

But the corruption investigation is a minefield for Mr Habibie, whose own family enjoyed considerable success in business under Mr Soeharto, and some commentators say they fear the investigation is merely being used to stall criticism of his government.

A diplomat said: "President Habibie has social, economic, security and stability problems and needs both international and domestic credibility. What better way to get that but to move against his predecessor?" Several weeks ago, Mr Soeharto appeared on television announcing that he had "not a single cent" in bank accounts in Indonesia or abroad, a move seen as a public warning to Mr Habibie to back off.

With daily demonstrations against rising food prices, and sporadic riots and looting across the country, Mr Habibie is under considerable pressure to distance himself from the past and seek justice because of the economic ruin that the nation is facing. However, the diplomat said: "It will be very difficult to move against Soeharto."

He had had since May, when Mr Soeharto resigned, until September to tie up any loose ends, and any large amounts of cash he might have had would now be untraceable. "It will be very difficult to prove anything, and everyone's hands are dirty, so the message is that if you push him too hard then he will come up with evidence that Habibie benefited, too."

An Indonesian specialist, Mr Jeffrey Winters, said the most important reason Mr Soeharto "thumbed his nose" at those demanding his fortune be revealed and returned to the nation was that he was obviously confident no-one would be able to prove how much money he had and where it was hidden. The best that could be hoped for was the seizure of some of the Soeharto family's domestic assets, Mr Winters said. Some estimates put the family's fortune at as high as $US40 billion ($68 billion).

An Australian-based Indonesian specialist, Mr George Aditjondro, said the Habibie Government was probably unable to thoroughly investigate Mr Soeharto's assets because the families shared interests in at least three areas. "It is impossible to cut through the flesh and nerves of Soeharto's wealth without touching Habibie," he said. Habibie and Soeharto family members share business interests in telecommunications, power generation and the industrial development zone on Batam island, he said.

The diplomat said Mr Habibie had to show some results, since the issue was on newspaper front pages every day. "One thing he could be looking at is to investigate in an inconclusive way and let it drag on, and then find no proof."

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