Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri's son, Mohammad Rizki "Tatam" Pratama, has decided to withdraw from a business project in the Jakarta Fairground after intense scrutiny by legislators, The Jakarta Post reported yesterday.

The withdrawal spared the President's eldest son from being summoned by a House inquiry. "Pak Tatam has sent a letter informing us that he had withdrawn from the project since November 10. We hope this is not an act of deceit," the inquiry committee chairman Effendy Choirie said after a closed-door meeting on Wednesday with the board of commissioners and board of directors of PT Theda Persada Nusantara, a private firm appointed to develop a Chinese centre in the fairground complex.

Mr Tatam was deputy commissioner when PT Theda Persada Nusantara proposed the project to the fairground management last July.

Last month, State Secretary Bambang Kesowo said the decision to grant Mr Tatam rights to develop and manage a 17ha lot at the 40ha fairground did not violate existing laws, the report said.

PT Theda Persada Nusantara had initially planned to build apartments, a shopping centre and a hypermarket valued at 6 trillion rupiah on a 30ha lot in Kemayoran. The Kemayoran New Town Authority later granted the company the right to develop only 17ha with the total project value of 1.6 trillion rupiah.

The withdrawal of Mr Tatam did not affect the project, said company chief Samingoen. "Members of the company appreciate the withdrawal of Tatam. That is a wise decision," he said.