Although the sound of grenades that exploded in Aceh did not reach Jakarta, it does not mean that the capital does not suffer from the consequences of the conflict there. Indeed, it was reported that the conflict in Aceh undermined the position of Sudi Silalahi as Secretary to the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs.

Since mid-April, it was reported that Silalahi would be removed from his post. The reason: the senior Indonesian Military (TNI) officer, holding the rank of Lt. Gen, is set to hit mandatory retirement age. "I believe a decision by the president on the dismissal would be issued next week," said State Secretary Bambang Kesowo after a restricted meeting three Thursdays ago.

But, till last Friday, the decision had not been sent by the palace to Jalan Merdeka Barat, the location of the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs, Silalahi's place of work. And without an official dismissal letter, the general continues to perform his usual duties.

The plan to remove Silalahi using his mandatory retirement age as the reason has raised question marks. Inspector-General of Police Demak Lubis-the Coordinating Ministry's Deputy IV who was said to be Silalahi's replacement-is two years older than Silalahi. After extending his service for two extra years, Demak should retire in June 2004-a month before Silalahi's mandatory retirement.

A Tempo source, an official at the palace that requested anonymity, said the reason to remove Silalahi is indeed not because of age. Neither is it also because of his close ties with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the erstwhile Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs who resigned because of his presidential candidacy. "The root of the problem started from Aceh," said the source.

According to him, the problem is related to the increasingly acrimonious relationship between the current two administrators in Aceh: Governor Abdullah Puteh and the Regional Martial Law Administrator (PDMD) Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya.

Puteh felt that Endang – who is in charge of Aceh while under martial law-is currently putting him in a corner with his Law Enforcement Operation, marked with its fight against corruption.

The cold war between the two administrators started in early March. An open discussion held then at the Teuku Umar Hall, Banda Aceh, between the Aceh Joint Monitoring Team, which was represented by the team's head, Mar'ie Muhammad and Sudi Silalahi became a heated exchange.

Triggering the incident was a statement made by Puteh. The former chairman of the Indonesian National Youth Committee expressed disappointment that a quarter of the then Rp10 trillion State Budget (APBN) allocated for Aceh must be set aside for the Syah Kuala University, the Aceh Regional Police, the Prosecutor's Office, the Iskandar Muda Military Command and several other institutions.

The statement yielded a reaction from the Commander of the Iskandar Muda Military Command as the Martial Law Administrator. Endang responded that he would ask his staff to make public the amount of money that they received.

"Let it be known to the media so that there would not be any negative thoughts. For instance, the Military Command is involved [in misappropriation]," said Endang.

A month after the meeting, Endang made his move. At midday on April 10, the Head of Aceh Regional Finance Secretariat Bureau, Teuku M. Lizam, was arrested while in his office by an intelligence task force from the PDMD. Lizam was arrested on graft charges related to an electricity generating procurement project worth Rp30 billion.

Puteh was startled, particularly, since after that arrest, the PDMD placed another person in custody – the Communication Chief of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Usman Budiman. To his investigators, Usman told of Puteh's involvement in the case. That very day, Puteh reportedly flew second-class to Jakarta, but without his name being listed in the passenger manifest.

Suspicion that Governor Puteh is involved in misappropriating state funds is not new news, however. For a long while, a series of alleged graft cases that suggested his involvement, or those that are close to him, have been making their rounds in Aceh. Among them: the project to acquire a plane for Seulawah NAD that has been missing from the news recently. The project, however, has spent more than Rp10 billion. Aside from that, the governor is also allegedly involved in inflating the price of the Pulo Rondo Boat project and marking up the price of the MI-2 helicopter from Russia. The last two cases are currently being investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

It is here that Silalahi is said to be involved in the acrimony. As the Vice Chairman of the Monitoring Team, who has a pile of data related to the misappropriation of state funds in Aceh, Silalahi is considered to have given his full support to the actions initiated by Endang Suwarya. In a recommendation the team made to the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Silalahi and his friends even insinuated that a serious act of misappropriation was committed involving the funds for the Joint Operations. "From our investigation, we discovered that at least 263 cases of corruption took place in 2003, with losses to the state estimated at about 2.76 trillion rupiah," said Kamal Farza, an activist with Aceh's People's Solidarity for Anti-Corruption.

Further, the PDMD's intention to question Puteh is also not a new thing. At the start of implementation of martial law in May last year, the Commander of the Iskandar Muda Military Command invited several journalists. At that time, the Military Command put forward several pieces of evidence that implicated Puteh in alleged corruption acts. However, the enthusiasm that was then burning among several in the Military Command was extinguished in mid-stream.

Did Puteh become stronger because of political support from Jakarta? It is difficult to ascertain. But, what is certain is that he is not a "green" politician. Faced with attacks from various quarters, he and his supporters seek support from the central government. Last week, through his legal adviser, O.C. Kaligis, Puteh sought protection from the Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Akbar Tandjung. According to Kaligis, matters related to the administration of graft cases in Aceh are the responsibility of the Prosecutors Office and the Aceh Attorney General, not the PDMD.

The fight has not been futile. Lizam has since been released because of lack of evidence and Puteh appears set to escape from the trap this time.

"To date, there is no indication of Governor Puteh's involvement in graft cases in Aceh," said Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam's Chief of Police, Insp. Gen. Bachrumsyah last Thursday. The only remaining suspect is William Taylor, the contractor who supplied the electricity generators.

The KPK that has the authority to investigate further the cases involving Puteh has also decided to adopt a very cautious stance. "Currently, we're in the supervision phase, including providing technical assistance in the examination and investigation," said the Deputy Chairman of KPK, Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas. "However, when more is requested, we would certainly be prepared."

With the statement from the Aceh Police Chief, could it then be concluded that Puteh won the acrimony battle? Not necessarily. Silalahi could also not be declared the loser. The fact: he continues to perform his duties as usual at Merdeka Barat.

Those close to Sudi Silalahi suggested that his dismissal letter that was issued by Hari Sabarno has several irregularities. And that he may be able to continue with his position. There were suspicions that the letter was written at the Department of Home Affairs and not at the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs – which administratively is not proper.

The letter (reference number R-14/Menko/Polkam/4/2004) is considered to be different from letters that were issued by Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs. Among the differences: the word "yang terhormat (the Honorable)" was not used at the start of the letter.

Further the phrase "Presiden RI (President of the Republic of Indonesia)" was not followed by the name of the president – Megawati Sukarnoputri. There was also another strange thing about the letter: the letter requested that Silalahi be returned to TNI HQ – an unusual request from the Office the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs.

Is the story true? "Please don't ask me," Silalahi pleaded when he was met at his office. According to his staff, he is only prepared to provide an explanation after the president has made her decision.

Meanwhile, Abdullah Puteh has repeatedly disputed the graft cases linked to him in Aceh. He also denied that he traveled to Jakarta in the middle of last month because he was afraid that the PDMD might arrest him. "I left because I received a sudden invitation from the Secretary-General of the Department of Home Affairs," said Puteh to reporters. However, he did admit that his name was not listed in the manifest because he used a ticket that was issued to another person. Aside from that, he refused to comment. "I'll give a statement later," he said, in the midst of the Golkar convention activities recently.

The Minister for Home Affairs, who is also the interim Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Hari Sabarno, also avoided questions when asked to comment about allegations that the dismissal letter for Silalahi was written at the Office of the Department of Home Affairs. "I don't wish to comment on that matter," said Hari last Thursday. However, at a different occasion he gave a short comment. "At the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, I also often signed letters that were sent by the Department of Home Affairs," he said as he was about to enter his car.

"I'm both of them, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs and Home Affairs Minister."

It is not easy to predict where the events will finally end. There is even speculation that the Puteh issue was one of the conditions set by Hamzah Haz for him to form a coalition with Mega. "Pak Hamzah requested the president to consider the matter," said an expert coordinator for the Vice President, Laode Kamaluddin.

[Darmawan, Yuswardi, Dedi Sinaga, Yandhrie Arvian.]