Jakarta – Disgusted by recriminations that Golkar swindled most of the 54 billion rupiah (S$9.5 million) from a financial scandal involving a state agency, a government minister said most major political parties got a share of the money.

Several politicians and parties had been accused of misusing funds from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), including House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, who chairs Golkar, the second largest party in government.

State Minister of Communications and Information Syamsul Muarif, who is also from Golkar, said: "Of course, when then president B.J. Habibie distributed the funds to the political parties, he did not get receipts from those who accepted it."

In a thinly veiled threat, Mr Syamsul said there were quite a few Golkar members who were more than willing to discuss the facts publicly, which he claimed would drag many political parties down.

Meanwhile, Golkar's well-oiled political machinery moved into high gear on Tuesday as it attempted to thwart the setting up a special parliamentary probe team to investigate the Bulog scandal. Instead, the party is advocating a more tedious, but less politically damaging, legal process through the courts.

The establishment and findings of a parliamentary probe team would have greater political repercussions for Golkar as a whole as it prepares for the 2004 elections. And there were already signs that Golkar's lobbying may be succeeding. There are strong signals that major political factions are swaying ahead of today's meeting to determine the necessity of the investigation team. Golkar's inner circle has also been working full time to sway opinion and distance itself from the case.

The scam revolves around Mr Akbar's alleged misuse, when he was secretary of state, of funds from Bulog. The funds were said to be used for a poverty alleviation programme. However there were suspicions that the money found its way into Golkar's coffers during the 1999 general elections.

Mr Akbar, who was elected Golkar chairman in 1998, has maintained his innocence and claims that the Bulog money was handed over to a private foundation for distribution to help the poor.