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FINAL SEND-OFF: Eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana (left), second son Bambang Trihatmodjo and youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra (right) at Mr Suharto's funeral. -- PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
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JAKARTA - AN INDONESIAN court yesterday said a civil lawsuit against former president Suharto will now target his children, amid calls to pursue his family's allegedly ill-gotten wealth.
Mr Suharto's six children are seen to represent the worst excesses of his 32-year rule, building business empires through cronyism and kickbacks.
Their assets in businesses ranging from airlines, hotels and toll roads to TV and radio stations were worth up to US$35 billion (S$50 billion), according to 2004 data from Transparency International, an international non-governmental organisation that aims to curb corruption.
Previous efforts to take Mr Suharto's children to court and recover the state money have fallen short of expectations, as his strong influence lingered even after his ouster in 1998. But now that he is out of the picture, his children have less protection.
Chief among the corruption cases is the ongoing civil lawsuit filed by the government last year to reclaim US$240 million and 185.9 billion rupiah (S$28 million) in state money allegedly misused by Mr Suharto's charity foundation, Supersemar.
According to the prosecution, money raised by the foundation for education scholarships ended up in banks and companies owned by his friends and children.
The South Jakarta district court yesterday postponed a hearing for two weeks as the country is in mourning, but ordered Mr Suharto's lawyers to name an 'heir' to represent the case.
The chairman of the Indonesian Chapter of Transparency International, Mr Todung Mulya Lubis, said Mr Suharto's death should free the government of the reluctance of the last three administrations to pursue assets stolen by his family and cronies.
'Now that he is dead, the obstacles are gone,' he said.
In his eulogy on Monday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had called Mr Suharto a hero and urged the nation to pray for him. But he did not mention 'forgiveness', which some interpret as a sign that the legal process against the Suharto family would continue.
'A person can be a respectable figure with a lot of good deeds, but he should still take responsibility for the things he did wrong - in this case his family too,' said lawyer Bambang Widjojanto of Indonesian Corruption Watch.
Earlier this month, Attorney-General Hendarman Supanji had proposed an out-of-court settlement, but Mr Suharto's family refused and wanted the case dropped.
One of his lawyers, Mr Otto Cornelis Kaligis, yesterday said: 'He was never proven guilty in the criminal court, so we urged this case to be closed.'
Of the Suharto children, only youngest son Hutomo 'Tommy' Mandala Putra has served time. Eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana and second son Bambang Trihatmodjo have been investigated for graft several times but were never charged.
'It is now up to the government to pursue the cases against the family,' said Mr Bambang. 'But once they do that, there must be strong control over the judicial system to prevent briberies and any irregularities.'
asmarani@sph.com.sg
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