Energy minister must press Attorney General

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Dr Purnomo Yusgiantoro must be brave enough to press Attorney General Marzuki Darusman to expedite investigations into 159 cases of corruption, collusion and nepotism practices in state oil and gas company Pertamina, according to the State Assets Care Movement (Gempita) and the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW).

Gempita's secretary general Faisal Tadjuddin and ICW's working committee coordinator Teten Masduki called on the new minister to suspend a number of officials in his office and also in Pertamina to allow smooth investigations into their involvement in the graft allegations.

They also urged Purnomo to open his door wide open for state prosecutors to do their jobs in uncovering various graft allegations in his office, Pertamina and other state enterprises under his control.

"Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro must seriously look at 159 graft cases in Pertamina. Therefore, he must be brave enough to pressurize the attorney general, and monitor progress reports from the attorney general in his investigations against the graft allegations," Faisal said.

The audit by Pricewaterhouse Cooppers (PwC) on Pertamina shows that embezzlement and inefficiencies in the state oil and gas firm for two fiscal years of 1996/1997 and 1997/1998 reached US$6.1 billion.

Of the total lost money of $6.1 billion, $2.4 billion was recorded in Pertamina's central office, $2.2 billion from the directorate of exploration and production, $700 million from Pertamina's pension fund, shipping and port division $400 million, processing $300 million and the agency to take care of foreign contractors with $100 million. (*)