Bambang Trihatmodjo Wondered Why Sri Mulyani Collected The 1997 Sea Games Bailout

JAKARTA - Bambang Trihatmodjo admitted that he was surprised by the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani who collected the bailout funds for the 1997 Sea Games XIX. In fact, according to Bambang, the person in charge of organizing the biennial Asean sports event which was held in Jakarta at that time, was not only himself. .

Through his attorney Prisma Wardhana Sasmita, Bambang said that the person in charge of organizing the 1997 Sea Games was the Organizing Partner Consortium (KMP). The KMP implementer is PT Tata Insani Mukti (TIM).

"So, this collection is also far from fair. The debts that have been collected have also swelled, from initially Rp. 35 billion to Rp. 64 billion because of the accumulated interest of 15 percent per year," said Prima quoted Thursday, February 24.

Meanwhile, Bambang Trihatmodjo's other attorney, Shri Hardjuno Wiwoho, added that the bailout funds did not come from the state budget. The funds, he said, came from the Ministry of Forestry's reforestation levy which was sent to the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI) for the national training center (pelatnas) of Indonesian athletes who would compete in the 1997 Sea Games.

"The Rp35 billion bailout fund came from the Ministry of Forestry's reforestation fund, now it's called KLHK. It's also a private fund, not the state budget. So this must be understood," said Hardjuno Wiwoho

Furthermore, said Hardjuno, his party as Bambang Trihatmodjo's legal team asked the government to have an objective look in resolving the 1997 Sea Games debt dispute.

"We just want to straighten things out. Do not let injustice happen in the process of settling obligations," said Hardjuno.