Jakarta – Former president Soeharto's long-time finance minister Ali Wardhana told a civil court hearing Tuesday he was coerced by Soeharto in 1976 to issue a decree requiring banks to siphon funds into the then president's foundation.

Ali worked as finance minister from 1968 until 1983 and said he initially refused Soeharto's 1976 order to transfer the money to Supersemar Scholarship Foundation.

But he said two years later, after the president had insisted the money would be used for educational and social purposes, he implemented the request.

"President Soeharto summoned me to his office (in 1978) demanding to know why I had refused his request," Ali told the South Jakarta district court, as reported by Antara.

The civil case seeks to recoup the US$420 million and Rp 185.9 billion in state monies that Supersemar allegedly misused.

Attorneys trying the civil case also want Rp 10 trillion in immaterial loses.

The decree Ali issued in 1978 required that state-owned banks siphon half their net profits to Soeharto's foundation.

The issuance followed a 1976 ministerial decree on the use of state banks' net profit.

"At first, I was opposed to the idea of transferring state bank profits to the private sector," Ali told the court.

"This explains why I put off (Soeharto's) request for (more than) two years."

But Ali said he eventually issued the decree with a clause requiring the social affairs and education ministers to closely control the fund.

Statistics from the Development Finance Controller show Supersemar managed to gather Rp 1.25 trillion from state banks and other sources until June 30, 1998 – one month after Soeharto's downfall.