Indonesian corruption scandal deepens

Hundreds of activists have protested, demanding that Tanjung be brought to trial for the multi-million-dollar scam

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A corruption scandal involving the embezzlement of about US$4 million from Indonesia's national food distribution agency took an unexpected twist this weekend.

According to the attorney general's office, two out of three suspects in custody returned more than US$3 million of the funds, paid in installments over the course of last week.

The surprising turn of events has raised public suspicions the payback may weaken the case against one of the country's highest profile suspects, Akbar Tanjung, parliamentary speaker and head of the country's powerful Golkar political party.

The attorney general's office detained Tanjung last Thursday in connection with the multi-million-dollar corruption scandal, though no charges were filed.

High-ranking Golkar members are expected to hold an emergency meeting on Monday night to discuss how the party will react to Tanjung's detention.

Tanjung's arrest was publicly applauded and has bolstered the anti-corruption drive of Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

But critics now fear that Megawati's government may backtrack on its recent success and on its pledges to revamp the judicial system, with huge implications for the political future of this Southeast Asian nation.

'Expose vagaries'

Tanjung has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the case

"It's important the money is returned. But it's much more important to investigate and expose the vagaries of this kind of corruption," said Hendardi of the Indonesian Legal Aid Center.

"In fact, the return of the money could be seen as clouding over what was just becoming clear -- possibly to blanket the corrupt practices of Akbar Tanjung and the Golkar party."

But the attorney general's office insists they will press ahead with the investigation into all suspects of the case, including Tanjung, regardless of the money being handed back.

"We expect the investigative report to be completed by the end of this month. It will then be delivered to the public prosecutor for further examination," attorney general's spokesman, Barman Zahir told reporters Saturday evening.

Golkar, formally the country's ruling party, is the second largest party in parliament and is a key ally in the Megawati coalition government.

Initially, Golkar cadres threatened to break from the ruling coalition and pull their ministers from Megawati's rainbow cabinet -- sparking fears of further political instability.

Over the weekend, however, Golkar's three ministers in the cabinet denied that they would resign.

Investigators are looking into allegations that Tanjung diverted about US$4 million earmarked for poverty programs into his political party coffers.

If Tanjung is indicted on charges of using state funds for the benefit of his political party, Golkar may not be allowed to contest the 2004 elections.

Tanjung has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. He was a cabinet minister under former President Suharto and has been credited with keeping Golkar a major political player after the autocrat resigned in 1998.