The Last Card Up Tommy's Sleeve
What more can be written about Hutomo ‘Tommy’ Mandala Putra? The tale of this youngest son of former president Suharto avoiding prosecution resembles some kind of never ending soap saga. The public watches these hysterics like they have been sentenced to onion peeling: there are many layers, which one after the other sting the eyes.
Let's take a look. In the beginning, the judge at the South Jakarta District Court freed Tommy Suharto from the attorney general's charges in a land swap case between PT Goro and the State Logistics Agency. The attorney general then appealed and Tommy was pronounced guilty by the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Ricardo Gelael—Tommy's partner in this case—chose to undergo his sentence while requesting a pardon. Tommy refused to serve his jail time of 18 months and pay a fine of Rp 30 billion. He employed an unusual legal strategy: applying for a pardon but at the same time claiming he was not guilty. President Abdurrahman Wahid said he would reject a pardon for Tommy, and Tommy's legal advisors applied for a possible reconsideration of the refusal.
After that, extra legal efforts were attempted. Tommy had two meetings with the president. After the presidential decision was issued refusing Tommy's pardon, he chose to go into hiding and became a fugitive. The mass media then highlighted the search efforts of the police and the Attorney General's Office, which failed to yield results. What stood out was only a chain of events resembling some sort of foolish play, including the time when Abdurrahman Wahid said Tommy was hiding in a bunker below Jl. Cendana (the location of the Suharto family residence), and that the authorities have been unable to find the subterranean shelter. Besides escaping prosecution and insulting the authorities, Tommy even ordered his lawyers to launch a counter attack on the president's office.
This assault began with his lawyers claiming that in the meeting between President Abdurrahman Wahid and Tommy, there were some offers which reeked of collusion and corruption. The supporters of the Cendana group also blew up the story that Tommy successfully recorded the secret conversation, and threatened to expose it. Spokesmen at the president’s office replied to this threat by issuing an official denial, and openly invited the ones who claimed to have this recording to provide it to the public.
To this day, unfortunately, the recording has not yet been exposed. Also—even more regrettably—Tommy has yet to be captured. Therefore, don't be surprised if a number of conspiracy theories spring up, including suspicion that Tommy's disappearance may have come about as a result of an agreement between the president and Tommy in their two meetings.
There are a number of reasons why this theory makes sense. First, there is the oddity of why a president would be willing to secretly meet a sentenced criminal in a public place. Besides that, a story has been spread by the Cendana group about a certain person close to Gus Dur, as the president is popularly called, who asked for funds to be used for social activities of the head of state and his family. Add to this the behavior of the law enforcement authorities, whose heads are visibly spinning in performing their task of taking in Tommy and even seizing his assets. Many are reminded of a number of President Abdurrahman Wahid's statements. His remarks mentioned that he would forgive Suharto if the second president of the Republic of Indonesia was prepared to donate the larger part of his wealth to the state. In fact, no less than Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was assigned to be the liaison in this matter.
Other conspiracy theories, which the supporters of Gus Dur believe, conclude that the disappearance of Tommy is strong proof of the strength of the network of Cendana supporters in the ranks of the government. The motive for such support is not only for material considerations but also for the importance of holding onto a system which is deemed to be beneficial. There are a few unusual indications that support this theory, like the length of time it took to process official papers connected to the Tommy case. Besides that, the comical efforts in carrying out the arrest and the confiscation of the assets of Suharto's beloved son are suspected to be an act that was orchestrated by pro-status quo connections.
Which theory is true? It is still too early to know for sure. But it is not impossible that it could be a combination of the two. Dilapidation in the ranks of the Attorney
General's Office, the police and the courts is nothing new. Their official salaries are small while their authority is large, leading to random abuse and commercialization of their positions as upholders of the law. If you look at the way some of them live, it clearly proves that their incomes are much higher than their official salaries. There may be some who enjoy adequate provisions since they come from, or have married into, circles that are well-off. However, many others have surely obtained a living from unlawful sources.
Such prevalent factors have brought about a large number of people who are from wealthy circles, such as Tommy Suharto, and who have many opportunities to buy legal protection. There are also newcomers to the labyrinths of power, who also need money to hold onto that power or make a move on better positions. This need is more pressingly felt, since the physical and political health of President Abdurrahman Wahid is currently unstable.
So don't blink twice if money is the ‘trump card’ in Tommy Suharto's hands. Because if Tommy really has a tape of his chat with Gus Dur at his disposal, it does not necessarily mean it can be used to escape from the law. President Abdurrahman Wahid may be brought down by it, but his replacement would surely be under even greater public pressure to throw Tommy into the slammer.
Perhaps this is the reason the tape has not yet been made public.
JK
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