Rabby Pramudatama and Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Sat, October 20 2012, 11:48 AM
Paper Edition | Page: 2
The country’s top audit agency has come under fire following allegations that some of its leaders may have accommodated “outside intervention” in its audit of the graft-ridden Hambalang sports complex project.
The troubled Rp 1.17 trillion (US$121.97 million) Hambalang project was under the supervision of the Youth and Sports Ministry.
Oddly, however, the audit report by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) does not mention the name of Youth and Sports Minister Andi A. Mallarangeng, the person many believe should be held responsible for the project.
The exclusion of Andi’s name from the audit report has placed BPK leaders in an uneasy situation.
The BPK also failed to meet the deadline to complete the audit, which was supposed to be handed over to the House of Representatives by the end of August, prompting many to speculate that there have been heated debates and conflicting interests within the agency.
The BPK’s Agung Firman Sampurna confirmed “little differences of opinion” had hampered the audit process from progressing smoothly.
“The audit itself has actually been completed. However, when it came to the summary, debates occurred. Pak Taufieq thought that the draft of the summary did not provide sufficient details to paint a complete picture of the whole audit,” Agung said on Friday, referring to fellow BPK member Taufiequrachman Ruki.
Taufieq told Kompas daily on Thursday that he was disappointed to learn that the summary excluded Andi as well as contractor companies involved in the project.
“I will not sign [the audit] until they revise the report,” Taufieq, who is a former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman, said.
However, Taufieq refused to explain his stance when speaking to journalists on Friday.
“The report had not been completed but we found some suspicious flows of funds,” he told journalists after attending a meeting at the Finance Ministry.
Taufieq also denied allegations that some BPK members had intentionally delayed the audit. “We have been dealing with complex matters,” he said.
Commenting on suspicions of outside interference, Taufieq said, “You need to distinguish between interference and giving directives.”
Separately, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo suggested that the audit should have mentioned Andi because a minister must have known about and approved such a high-profile project.
The Hambalang case has captivated public attention as it implicates figures close to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Democratic Party.
Andi, a member of the party’s board of patrons, as well as party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, are among those who allegedly benefited from the controversial project.
Former party treasurer and graft convict Muhammad Nazaruddin, who released details on the case not long after he was arrested on separate corruption charges, said that Anas had utilized funds from the project to help him win the party chairmanship election in 2010.
Both Anas and Andi have repeatedly denied they were involved in corruption connected to the Hambalang case.
The KPK has so far named Deddy Kusdinar, the head of the financial and internal affairs bureau at the Youth and Sports Ministry, as the only suspect in the case since its investigation began in 2011.
KPK spokesperson Johan Budi said the commission’s investigation would not be hampered by the polemics surrounding the BPK audit.
“If somebody’s name is not included in the BPK audit report, it doesn’t mean that person could not be ensnared in the case’s investigation,” Johan told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Uchok Sky Khadafi from the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) said the BPK must include Andi’s name in the audit report.
“Exclusion of Andi’s name would be illogical since his role as a minister in the project was crystal clear,” he said.
— Hans David Tampubolon contributed reporting
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