Post-power syndrome, jail await former ministers

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 05/10/2007 7:05 AM | Opinion

Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Talking to former ministers and senior government officials who worked for former president Soeharto and also to those who served his four successors, B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati Soekarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, it seems those who worked for Soeharto's successors express more bitterness.

Soeharto's former aides would likely say they suffered from a power syndrome and, naturally, also the opportunity to frequently enrich themselves.

How about the four presidents' men? Losing privileges was already painful, but there were more serious threats: Prison.

During the Soeharto era, many officials prayed to be given his trust to handle government projects. Now, many officials pray, ""God, please help me avoid the projects,"" because many officials were put behind bars after heading such government assignments.

Unfortunately, Soeharto could not protect his -- likely most beloved -- golf buddy, business tycoon Bob Hasan, who served just two months as his trade minister. Bob was thrown in jail for several years after losing a corruption case. But Soeharto was no longer in power when Bob Hasan finally left for his cell.

May I continue with the story of the past?

Just a few hours after Soeharto inaugurated his short-lived last Cabinet -- which lasted only two months -- on March 16, 1998, one of his most trusted confidants could not control his emotions. He was usually very calm. I guessed he wept because he lost his job after becoming very powerful, at least for 10 years, until Soeharto discarded him.

But he insisted my conclusion was groundless. ""I am crying not because I lost my position, but because I remember the nation. Who will defend the people?"" he asked as he shook my hands firmly.

I had an unforgivable reaction. ""Ah masa (really?)""

One of his close friends offered him a tissue. This friend also sobbed. ""The country lost its best son,"" he said. I was probably naive to conclude that this friend was mourning the loss of one of his best business proteges.

When he was still a minister he often teased anti-Soeharto activists. ""Many people became human rights activists or fighters for democracy soon after they lost their position in the government,"" he said.

He fulfilled his own prophecy and now constantly complains that the state fails to protect its citizens.

On the same day, I also found an economics minister who lost his job crying in a corner of the State Palace where the swearing-in ceremony took place.

The Jakarta Post quoted this technocrat as saying he wept not because he had lost his job. ""I remembered my wife who died last year,"" he insisted.

The moral of the story is that during Soeharto's 32-year rule, many ministers and state officials who were sacked by the former president immediately claimed themselves as champions of democracy and defenders of human rights. Who would deny it was a positive way to overcome their post-power-syndrome problems?

Just recently, I attended a thanksgiving party hosted by a former government official. He felt grateful because police and prosecutors never questioned him, despite the fact he had a lucrative position in a lucrative ministry.

The preacher who led the prayer praised the host because he was always generous to his church.

""We must thank God because this Bapak never faced corruption allegations during his active service,"" said the thankful reverend.

""Not yet,"" the host said spontaneously in reaction to the laughter of his guests.

He later explained that after Soeharto's fall, many officials were imprisoned after losing their government positions. I am afraid he actually expected the reverend to pray for his safety from prison until death.

There is a long list of state officials who should serve jail terms for corruption after serving their nation. The list includes Rahardi Ramelan, a former head of the National Logistic Agency (Bulog) and minister of industry and trade under B.J. Habibie, and Said Agil Munawar, the religious affairs minister under Megawati.

By the way, Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Hamid Awaluddin, who were just dismissed from Cabinet, once served as ministers of justice. Now it is time for them to prove justice for themselves because the police, the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) and the Attorney General's Office are very eager to make them suspects in corruption cases. They need to remember they no longer have privileges as state officials. They must defend themselves.

I am not worried about Hamid, however, and not just because he is a legal expert (like Yusril), but because he wrote on Indonesian prisons in his PhD dissertation. He knows quite well how to avoid imprisonment, or at least how to live in comfort in jail.

How about Yusril? He is a self-confident professor of constitutional law. Going to jail is a mandate from the Constitution. Isn't it a real test?

The writer can be reached at purba@thejakartapost.com.

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