Buyung, ex-AG briefly held in S'pore

Abdul Khalik , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 03/22/2008 1:41 PM | Headlines

One of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's advisers, Adnan Buyung Nasution, and former attorney general Abdul Rachman Saleh were detained and questioned for two hours at Singapore's airport, Indonesian officials said Friday.

They said the incident took place Thursday night when the two arrived at Changi Airport from Jakarta.

"The two were affected by a random check conducted on passengers arriving on board the last flight," Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kristiarto Suryo Legowo said.

"We will ask for an explanation Monday about the lengthy questioning," he said.

State Secretary Hatta Radjasa denied Buyung was in Singapore to meet his former client Sjamsul Nursalim, a tycoon who fled abroad with trillions of rupiah in allegedly swindled Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds.

"He (Buyung) asked the President's permission to get a medical checkup in Singapore.

"Besides, Sjamsul is no longer his client since he (Buyung) became a member of the Presidential Advisory Council. So, there is no need to meet him," Hatta said, as quoted by detik.com news portal.

Buyung is a former lawyer for Sjamsul, whose BLBI case was recently dropped by the Attorney General's Office.

Abdul Rachman also reportedly flew to Singapore for a medical checkup.

Buyung's assistant Bunga Sriwijaya said that upon arrival at Changi Airport, Buyung and Abdul Rachman were approached by military personnel and taken to immigration room for questioning.

"They started asking general questions, such as the purpose of the visit and what they wanted to do in the country," Bunga said.

She said Buyung and Abdul Rachman were relaxed at first, believing it to be normal procedure. But they became impatient when the questioning lasted for two hours with no sign of ending, she said.

It was at this point, Bunga said, that Buyung called former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas for help.

Alatas contacted Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore Wardana to seek an explanation as to why the two men were being detained.

At 11:30 p.m., both men were released.

There was no immediate explanation from Singaporean officials for the incident.

"I am on vacation so I have no idea what is going on. I'll get back to you as soon as I hear something," Rajpal Singh, an official at the Singaporean Embassy in Jakarta, said by telephone from Singapore.

The brief detention of Buyung and Abdul Rachman comes amid heightened security at Changi Airport following the recent escape of terrorist Mas Slamet Kastari from a jail in the city-state.

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