“I’ve just received the authorization letter thismorning. I will have it sent today,” State SecretaryBambang Kesowo said following the opening of the thirdForestry Congress held at the State Palace in Jakartatoday (25/10). Bambang said the letter was to summonAkbar as a witness to this case.
Last Tuesday (23/10), the office of State Secretaryreceived a letter from the AGO requesting theexecutive authorization to question DPR Speaker AkbarTandjung. This constitutes a follow-up measure to thetestimony recently provided by Rahardi Ramelan, aprime suspect for this embezzlement case.
Rahardi Ramelan claims he released Rp 54 billion fromBulog’s non-budgetary fund for numerous stateemergency needs following the May 1998 riots. Tenbillion rupiah had been allocated to secure Jakarta,that is, the financing of the independent securityforce (Pam Swakarsa) coordinated by IndonesianMilitary (TNI) chief, General Wiranto. Another Rp 40billion was apparently used by the then StateSecretary, Akbar Tandjung, to provide food supplies.
DPR Speaker Akbar Tandjung has already admitted tochanneling Rp40 billion to a foundation that providedassistance to people suffering food shortages in early1999, but he claims he cannot recall which foundationthis was
