Dahlan skips another House hearing for cattle project
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan did not
show up for the second time in a hearing session held by the House of
Representatives over the alleged mismanagement of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara
(PLN), which led to the state suffering Rp 36 trillion (US$3.78 billion) in
losses.
“We are very disappointed as this is a very serious matter. Dahlan Iskan is the former state power firm PLN chief and that is why we need him to be present. We did not summon him in his capacity as a minister,” said Effendi Simbolon of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) who chaired the hearing session.
Effendi said the next hearing would not be until the House completed its recess period from Oct. 25 to Nov. 18.
The legislators, he added, would summon Dahlan for a third time with a copy of the summons letter being sent to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to ensure the minister shows up before the
lawmakers.
An official with the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry public relations director, Faisal Halimi, confirmed separately that Dahlan was visiting a cattle project in Jambi.
Previously on Monday, legislators at the House Commission VII overseeing energy scheduled an impromptu hearing session to demand answers from Dahlan in regards to a report by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) on PLN’s performance.
Dahlan led PLN from 2009 until 2011.
“We are very disappointed as this is a very serious matter. Dahlan Iskan is the former state power firm PLN chief and that is why we need him to be present. We did not summon him in his capacity as a minister,” said Effendi Simbolon of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) who chaired the hearing session.
Effendi said the next hearing would not be until the House completed its recess period from Oct. 25 to Nov. 18.
The legislators, he added, would summon Dahlan for a third time with a copy of the summons letter being sent to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to ensure the minister shows up before the
lawmakers.
An official with the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry public relations director, Faisal Halimi, confirmed separately that Dahlan was visiting a cattle project in Jambi.
Previously on Monday, legislators at the House Commission VII overseeing energy scheduled an impromptu hearing session to demand answers from Dahlan in regards to a report by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) on PLN’s performance.
Dahlan led PLN from 2009 until 2011.
The minister failed to attend the meeting as he accompanied President Yudhoyono in Yogyakarta for a microfinancing event.
The BPK report shows that Dahlan was responsible for PLN purchasing diesel-powered electricity generators following its inability to meet deadlines on the construction of coal-powered generators in the 10,000 megawatt projects.
The report concluded that the decision, which led to soaring electricity subsidies, was a result of poor management of the company’s energy mix.
Separately, another legislator, Teuku Riefky Harsya from the Democratic Party, said that the meeting could have gone on in the absence of Dahlan as the legislators could hear answers from other parties
mentioned in the BPK report.
“However, as most members of the commission wanted to postpone the meeting, then we must delay it,” he said.
Current PLN president director Nur Pamudji, who previously served as the state power firm’s primary energy director under Dahlan’s tenure, said that he was optimistic he could explain the alleged mishaps as reported by the BPK.
“At the time, PLN did not get enough gas supplies, hence we used diesel to provide electricity,” he told The Jakarta Post.
“Thus, PLN did not suffer losses, we just lost a chance to save as much as Rp 36 trillion. Those were not losses.”
Dahlan was not available for comment on Wednesday evening, but tempo.co quoted Dahlan in Jambi as saying that he would explain the BPK report to the legislators as soon as possible.
Governor upbeat that
residents will not resist relocation
Jakarta
Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo says that he is optimistic that residents living
on riverbanks will agree to his plan to build kampung deret (rows of villages)
along the river in order to provide them with better housing.
Jokowi assured that more discussions with residents would be organized to engage with those who did not agree with the plan.
“I’m sure [the residents will agree]. We haven’t talked much about it, and we don’t want to evict anybody,” he said on Friday as quoted by kompas.com.
Jokowi said that the administration had planned thoroughly on the construction of kampung deret.
“But talking with the residents is the most crucial part. And the construction of kampung deret and low-cost apartment blocks will of course be in line with the regulation,” he said.
Some residents along the riverbank said that they were still reluctant to move from their houses when the construction of kampung deret started.
They said that they were afraid they could not get used to the new conditions.
Jakarta housing and building agency chief Novizal said that the construction would start in 2013.
“The concept is now being discussed. We are still collecting information about areas whose residents have agreed with this plan and measuring the areas,” he said recently.
Novizal said that the kampung deret would look like two or three-story high low-cost apartments. Each unit will be built complete with proper lighting and air circulation.
He said that there would be no evictions during the construction, but the residents would be moved to places that would be provided by the administration.
Novizal said that when the villages and blocks were completed, residents would then occupy their old places.
“The mechanisms are still being planned. But residents will have new buildings at the same locations,” he said.
The first area that would be built would likely be Ciliwung River, Bukit Duri in South Jakarta.
Jokowi talked with residents in the area during his visit to the Sanggar Ciliwung Merdeka community organization in Bukit Duri.
He had a discussion with residents on the design of low-cost apartment blocks that were presented by community leader Sandyawan Sumardi.
He said that the plan had received a positive response from the residents and added that it could help turn the area into a better living environment.
Jokowi assured that more discussions with residents would be organized to engage with those who did not agree with the plan.
“I’m sure [the residents will agree]. We haven’t talked much about it, and we don’t want to evict anybody,” he said on Friday as quoted by kompas.com.
Jokowi said that the administration had planned thoroughly on the construction of kampung deret.
“But talking with the residents is the most crucial part. And the construction of kampung deret and low-cost apartment blocks will of course be in line with the regulation,” he said.
Some residents along the riverbank said that they were still reluctant to move from their houses when the construction of kampung deret started.
They said that they were afraid they could not get used to the new conditions.
Jakarta housing and building agency chief Novizal said that the construction would start in 2013.
“The concept is now being discussed. We are still collecting information about areas whose residents have agreed with this plan and measuring the areas,” he said recently.
Novizal said that the kampung deret would look like two or three-story high low-cost apartments. Each unit will be built complete with proper lighting and air circulation.
He said that there would be no evictions during the construction, but the residents would be moved to places that would be provided by the administration.
Novizal said that when the villages and blocks were completed, residents would then occupy their old places.
“The mechanisms are still being planned. But residents will have new buildings at the same locations,” he said.
The first area that would be built would likely be Ciliwung River, Bukit Duri in South Jakarta.
Jokowi talked with residents in the area during his visit to the Sanggar Ciliwung Merdeka community organization in Bukit Duri.
He had a discussion with residents on the design of low-cost apartment blocks that were presented by community leader Sandyawan Sumardi.
He said that the plan had received a positive response from the residents and added that it could help turn the area into a better living environment.
Former top envoy to US named suspect
Shortly after
being released on parole, graft convict and former Indonesian ambassador to the
United States Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat is once again facing another
corruption charge that could send him back to prison.
Spokesperson of
the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Priharsa Nugraha confirmed on Wednesday
that Sudjadnan had been questioned on charges of misusing state funds earmarked
for the Foreign Ministry to organize a series of international events including
seminars and conferences between 2004 and 2005.
The KPK said
that the crime occurred while Sudjadnan was the ministry secretary-general for
the 2004-2005 period
He was accused
of playing an important role in the misappropriation scheme, which caused the
state to lose Rp 18 billion (US$1.9 million).
The KPK,
however, has not moved to detain Sudjadnan.
The antigraft
body named Sudjanan in November 2011 but details of the case have only been
disclosed recently
KPK
investigators have questioned a number of witnesses including Indonesian
ambassador to Canada Dienne Dhardianto Mohario, a former inspector general at
the ministry and composer and
conductor Erwin
Gutawa.
Erwin is one of
musicians regularly invited to perform at the events in question.
KPK spokesman
Johan Budi said Sudjadnan was the only suspect in the case.
“But
investigators may come up with more names as the probe progresses, when they
have more testimony and evidence,” he said.
This is not the
first time Sudjadnan has been investigated for graft.
In 2008 while
still serving as ambassador to the US, Sudjadnan was named a suspect for his
role in the mark-up of the renovation of the Indonesian embassy in Singapore
between 2003 and 2004. The procurement project was worth $1.98 million.
During
Sudjadnan’s corruption trial in 2008, former ambassador to Singapore Mochamad
Slamet Hidayat, who was also convicted, revealed that Sudjadnan had received
US$200,000 from the project funds when he was the Foreign Ministry
secretary-general.
In January 2011,
the Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced him to 1 year and 8 months in prison. He
was released on parole earlier this year.
The Foreign
Ministry has recently been rocked by a graft scandal in the procurement of
overseas flight tickets for its diplomats and officials.
The
investigation by the Attorney General’s Office’s (AGO) special crimes division
at that time implicated former Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, who is now a
member of the presidential advisory board, and former secretary-general (now
Indonesian ambassador to China) Imron Cotan.
No charges have
been brought to the former senior officials.
Several cases of
alleged corruption involving Indonesian diplomats overseas have raised concerns
over their credibility in representing the country abroad.
Another top
envoy implicated in a graft case is former ambassador to Russia Hamid
Awaluddin. He was implicated in a passport project carried out by the Justice
and Human Rights Ministry where he was minister from 2005 to 2007.
Hamid earlier
evaded graft charges against him in connection with the misuse of 2004 election
funds, and in another case linked to a bribery scandal involving former
president Soeharto’s youngest son, Hutomo “Tommy” Mandala Putra
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