In what may have been a warning shot at Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie over the investigation into the Bank Century bailout, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday ordered the National Police to hunt down anyone suspected of tax evasion.
Yudhoyono's directive came a day after a senior presidential aide suggested that politicians pushing the investigation into the government's Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) bailout were the same ones who are allegedly guilty of tax evasion.
The order also came on the eve of a South Jakarta State Court ruling expected today on whether the Ministry of Finance's Directorate General of Taxation can proceed with a criminal tax evasion case against miner PT Kaltim Prima Coal, which is a unit of Aburizal's Bakrie group.
"I have to remind you again, do seriously ensure the cessation of street crimes, transnational crimes. Also, don't forget corruption, tax crimes and debt embezzlement, which have burdened the people," Yudhoyono said during a National Police top leadership meeting on Monday. "With full confidence, we should solve this, because it concerns justice for our people."
Last month, the president also told customs officials that the government would discipline "naughty" individuals and companies that avoid paying tax.
The president's orders on Monday came as Golkar and six other political parties on the House of Representatives special committee probing the bailout preliminarily concluded that it may have been illegal.
On Sunday, presidential legal adviser Denny Indrayana said: "It is possible that those who designed [the Century case] are those who have problems with the law, those who do not pay taxes."
Although Denny didn't mention names, there is widespread speculation that he was referring to Aburizal, whose Bakrie group owns three companies accused by the tax office of failing to pay Rp 2 trillion in 2007 taxes.
Responding to the president's request, Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi, the National Police's chief of detectives, said the force would fully back up the tax office in pursuing tax evaders. "We will pay special attention to the president's call," he said, adding that he had met with tax office head Mochamad Tjiptardjo two weeks ago.
Golkar lawmaker Idrus Marham, who chairs the House special committee, said his party's aggressive stance was unrelated to Aburizal and his business empire. "We have the Bank Century issue, not taxes," he said. "I represent the Golkar Party here."
Political observer Ikrar Nusa Bakti, of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said Yudhoyono appeared to be increasing pressure on Aburizal, whose Golkar Party is a member of the ruling coalition but has been aggressive in investigating the bailout.
In December, Aburizal even suggested that Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who were at the center of the bailout decision in 2008, should be suspended during the House investigation.
On Monday, Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB) were the only two of nine parties on the special committee to find no wrongdoing in the bailout.
"Ical's family runs lots of companies and some of them are alleged to have tax problems, while Golkar has been playing hard against the government in the special committee," Bakti said, referring to Aburizal by his nickname. "You just can't [mix] tax problems with problems in politics."
Adding another twist to the drama, it is Sri Mulyani who oversees the tax office as finance minister. She claimed in December that the House investigation was aimed at discrediting her because of her poor relationship with Aburizal due to the reforms she had initiated.
University of Indonesia economist Faisal Basri said the Bank Century investigation might be politicized by "some groups" with powerful business and political connections.
[Additional reporting by Febriamy Hutapea, Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Camelia Pasandaran, Dion Basara.]