Kalla says Bakrie not biggest contributor to campaign

The Jakarta Post   |  Tue, 11/18/2008 2:18 PM  |  National

Vice President Jusuf Kalla confirmed Tuesday that one of Indonesia's richest men, Aburizal Bakrie, donated money to the 2004 presidential campaign of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Kalla.

However, he said, Bakrie was not the biggest contributor and the sum total contributed was still within the limits defined by law.

Kalla was responding to reporters' queries about whether government actions favoring Bakrie companies had anything to do with the assumption he was one of the biggest contributors to
campaign coffers, as reported by The Jakarta Post and Tempo magazine.

The alleged favors accepted by the Bakrie family of companies include allowing PT Energi Mega Persada to divest from any liability tied to the Lapindo mudflow disaster and suspending
trading on shares of Bakrie's flagship moneymaker PT Bumi Resources to protect it from drastic market correction. Bakrie is currently the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare.

"To my knowledge, Bakrie was not the biggest giver. You can check with the General Elections Commission. They have the audi  report," Kalla told reporters at the palace.

He added that anybody could contribute funds for candidates. In the United States, he said, president-elect Obama even held a dinner where those attending must pay US$10,000 a seat.

"It happens in any election. No regulation has been violated," he said.
 

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