A

fter being hit by a major graft scandal, the Justice and Human Rights Ministry decided to set up its own online system using its own resources rather than offering it to a private company.

"We will handle it on our own. We will utilize our own human resources," the ministry's Secretary General Abdul Bari Azed told reporters after an inauguration ceremony for 62 new officials here Friday.

He said the ministry would train its staffers to enable them to handle the operating of the new system.

However, the ministry would still procure hardware and software from private companies.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Mattalatta, said the ministry has asked for Rp 15 billion to buy equipment and build the system.

"We will no longer use equipment from PT Sarana Rekatama Dinamika (SRD)," he said.

SRD operated the website www.sisminbakum.com for the ministry's directorate general of legal administration since 2001. The website allowed legal entities to register for permits and nominate notaries. Services cost from Rp 250,000 (US$22) to Rp 1 million.

The ministry's officials and SRD allegedly embezzled up to Rp 400 billion that was supposed to be submitted as state non-tax income.

Instead 90 percent of the website revenue went to the company partly owned by media tycoon Hartono Tanoesudibjo while the remaining 10 percent went to the directorate general's officials.

The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has already declared the ministry's current director general of public legal administration Syamsuddin and his predecessors Zulkarnain and Romli Atmasasmita as being suspects in the case.

Also implicated in the case are the ministry's former chairman of employees cooperation Ali Amran Jannah and SRD president director Yohannes Waworuntu.

The AGO is currently searching for the location of Hartono after he failed to show up as a witness for the case. His lawyer said Hartono was in Singapore for medical treatment.

Abdul said that the ministry had stopped the online services under the system temporarily because they were negotiating to end their cooperation with SRD.

"We are still negotiating to end our cooperation with SRD. There are some commercial, technical and legal aspects that have yet to be agreed upon with the company," he said.

Abdul added the ministry would open the service for the public again as soon as it finalized an agreement with the SRD especially on those issues related to the ownership of the present equipment.

"Those who want to register a new company or apply for a notary should come to the ministry, and do it manually," he said.

After setting up the new system, the ministry would decide the new tariffs for the new online services