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Indonesia Anti-Graft Agency Fails to Investigate Garuda Allegations, Workers Say
Ezra Sihite | February 01, 2012

A Garuda Indonesia passenger plane takes off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. (Antara Photo/File) A Garuda Indonesia passenger plane takes off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. (Antara Photo/File)
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The Garuda Employees Union told lawmakers on Tuesday about several cases of potential corruption at the national airline that it said could have cost the state tens of millions of dollars.

“We have been reporting this since 2006,” Tomy Tampatty, a spokesman for the union known as Sekarga, said at the House of Representatives (DPR) on Tuesday.

A union delegation told lawmakers about several cases dating back to 2000 where it said corruption might have occurred.

Tomy said the union had repeatedly reported the cases to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), but the antigraft body had never followed up.

Sekarga filed its most recent report in December, he added.

“We, the union of workers, are seeking the support of you, the members of House Commission III,” he said. “Hopefully, the mafia [in Garuda] can be unraveled.”

Tomy said the reports to the KPK had been made while the commission was still under the leadership of Antasari Azhar, who was removed from the position in connection with a murder charge he was later convicted on.

He also pointed out that Chandra Hamzah, who until recently was a KPK deputy, had been a lawyer for Garuda.

Tomy said the union was not accusing Chandra of wrongdoing, but added “we are afraid about what will happen to Garuda if cases like thse are not taken seriously.”

The union claimed that there were indications of corruption in domestic ticket sales between 2000 and 2006. It also said graft may have taken place in the restructuring of Rp 270 billion ($30 million) worth of Garuda loans from Bank Negara Indonesia.

It also pointed to what it said were indications of corruption in the company’s promotion costs and in its IT management, with losses in its various international budgets put at Rp 140 billion, 2.7 million euros ($3.6 million) and $5.2 million.

Sekarga also singled out the leasing of eight Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which it said had the potential to cause state losses of up to $28.45 million.

The Sekarga delegation was received by House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs.

Martin Hutabarat, a Commission III member from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), said the commission would seek clarification from KPK chairman Abraham Samad during its next hearing with the antigraft body. The House commission, he said, will ask the KPK about Sekarga’s claims.

“Garuda was once a major source of corruption,” Martin said. “Why hasn’t the KPK been serious about handling this? We need to straighten this out.

“In our next hearing with the KPK, this matter will be included in our questions.”

Ahmad Yani, a member of Commission III from the United Development Party (PPP), said he believed the KPK’s hesitancy to investigate Garuda was mostly due to Chandra’s status as a former lawyer for the company.

“On the matter of Garuda, I received the reports and sent a letter to the KPK,” Ahmad said. “There are strong indications of a conflict of interest.”

Tomy said Sekarga was now trying to seek an audience with Abraham, who took over the KPK in December.

“Hopefully, this mafia can be unraveled if we can get the ear of Mr. Abraham Samad,” Tomy said.

In 2000, Indonesia Corruption Watch said that corruption at Garuda had cost the airline more than $1 billion since 1989.