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By Ron Moreau
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Masseurs don't normally get involved in the financial affairs of state, but then most countries are not run like Indonesia. In early January a man named Suwondo, who worked as both a masseur and a business partner for Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, went on an unusual errand. As described in embezzlement charges filed by Indonesian prosecutors, he paid a visit to Bulog, Indonesia's state-run food-distribution agency. Many Indonesians now believe that Bulog was a favorite cash cow for the corrupt in the government of former president Suharto. His cronies would regularly, it is now thought, siphon money from the agency for personal needs. Suwondo (like many Indonesians he has only one name) wanted to do much the same, apparently. Prosecutors charge that, acting on what he said was Wahid's behalf, Suwondo requested $12 million in cash from a senior Bulog official. The official, named Sapuan, refused the request, saying he needed written authorization from the president. On Jan. 7 Sapuan met with Wahid and Suwondo in Jarkarta's Independence Palace. Wahid has admitted telling Sapuan at that meeting that he needed money for "humanitarian projects." On Jan. 13 and again on Jan. 20, Wahid's masseur returned to Bulog. When he left, according to the charges now pending against him, he carried with him cashier's checks totaling $4 million. He hasn't been seen since.
The Indonesian press has dubbed the scandal Buloggate. Though details are slowly trickling out, the affair has critically weakened the government in Jakarta. Sapuan is in jail, awaiting trial on embezzlement charges. Despite holding two meetings at which he discussed taking Bulog money for presidential projects, Wahid insists that he changed his mind and never carried out the plan. Indonesia's attorney general says the president "is in the clear." But Buloggate has left many Indonesians shaking their heads. "Buloggate has seriously damaged him," says a Western diplomat in Jakarta. "Today, many Indonesians simply don't believe he can rule effectively."
It wasn't long ago that Wahid, widely known as Gus Dur, was being hailed as a political savior. The moderate Islamic leader, who heads a massive Islamic organization called Nahdlatul Ulama, came virtually out of nowhere to win the presidency, defeating the front runner, Megawati Sukarnoputri. Wahid, 60, has serious health problems--he's suffered two strokes, has diabetes and is nearly blind--but his supporters overlooked them in the scramble to find an alternative to Megawati. Hopes were high when Wahid took office last November. A democrat and longtime Suharto critic, he vowed to revive the economy, tackle corruption, rein in the Indonesian military and launch investigations into Suharto's alleged ill-gotten billions. Early this year Wahid scored a victory when he forced the former armed-forces commander, Wiranto, who is being investigated for his role in human-rights abuses in East Timor, out of the cabinet and into retirement.
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But that was Wahid's high-water mark. His administration has been rocked by the same problems that he decried in Suharto's, though on a lesser scale--corruption, nepotism, cronyism, abuse of power. Wahid's governing style, once described as "informal," is now criticized as amateurish. He greets all visitors barefoot and wearing short sleeves. Last month he installed his younger brother, a businessman named Hasyim, 47, in a key post in the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA). Even putting aside the nepotism problem, Hasyim had no banking experience. He resigned in early June after a torrent of criticism.
Then there is Buloggate. Trying to explain his role in the affair, Wahid declared that the president's office didn't need the money because he'd recieved a $2 million gift from the Sultan of Brunei. The sultan's money had been deposited in his personal banking account, Wahid said, and then funneled to the province of Aceh. Indonesians were stunned to learn not only that he had secretly received the money but handled it as if it were his own. "It's getting clear that Gus Dur doesn't know or doesn't pay attention to basic concepts of governance, transparency and accountability," says talk-show host Wimar Witoelar.
Wahid's opponents are going on the offensive. Parliamentary leaders are asking for an independent physician to examine the president's health. Legislators have also demanded that Wahid explain his recent sacking of Laksamana Sukardi--the squeaky-clean minister of Investment and State Enterprises, who was arguably the strongest member of a weak cabinet. Wahid accused Laksamana of corruption, but offered no evidence. Laksamana's replacement, Rozy Munir, is a controversial Wahid crony. According to foreign diplomats and press reports, Rozy allegedly asks for cash payments from candidates whom he is appointing to state jobs. Rozy denies the allegations. Several leading politicians have urged Wahid to bring skilled technocrats into the cabinet. Critics are calling for the appointment of a "first minister" who would take over the day-to-day management of government, leaving Wahid a more ceremonial role.
Wahid was elected primarily because he was considered dependably Muslim. Islamic militants were opposed to Megawati, who was deemed too sympathetic to Christian viewpoints. But in January Wahid suddenly announced a policy of improving ties with Israel, without informing allies beforehand. As Muslim-Christian violence worsened in the Moluccas (Spice Islands) last spring, Wahid criticized past policies of "coddling Muslims." He then declared a ceasefire with rebels in Aceh without the knowledge of Parliament. Those moves may have shown some courage, but alienated Wahid's core Muslim supporters. "He's betrayed us," says Faisal Imran, a militant Islamic student.
The political chaos threatens Indonesia's fragile economy. Wahid has demanded the resignation of Indonesia's central-bank chief, Sjahril Sabirin, whom the attorney general has implicated in the so-called Bank Bali scandal. Somehow, $63 million in IBRA funds was diverted to the re-election campaign of former president Habibie. Sjahril, who maintains his innocence, charges that Wahid has been gunning for him in order to put in his own candidate. Both the Sjahril and Laksamana cases have hurt the government's credibility with foreign investors and weakened the national currency, the rupiah.
Wahid's best hope lies in the government's investigation of Suharto. If Wahid can bring the ailing 79-year-old Suharto to the dock and get a conviction, he could reverse his political fortunes. Last week, at a meeting in Washington with President Clinton, Wahid secured a commitment for U.S. help in the hunt for Suharto's wealth, allegedly hidden in offshore bank accounts. According to his lawyers and friends, Suharto is not physically fit to stand trial, the result of three strokes. But Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, whose office is conducting the investigation, says his team has uncovered crucial facts during their interrogations of the former president. "His condition has not prevented us from continuing the investigation," Marzuki told NEWSWEEK. "He is coherent and knows exactly what this is all about. We have a strong case."
Wahid has long said that he would pardon Suharto, if he is convicted, on the condition that he return the lion's share of the billions he is alleged to have stolen. Last week Wahid revealed that his aides have been secretly negotiating the return of the family's fortune for weeks with two of Suharto's children. To speed up the talks, Wahid said he'd offered to give Suharto a written guarantee of clemency. "Convicting Suharto and getting the money back is crucial," says Marzuki. "Only if we resolve these matters can we start restoring confidence." To do so, however, Wahid needs more than a Suharto conviction. He will have to address Indonesians' real concerns about his own ability to govern.
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