INDONESIAN BIOGRAPHICAL AND POLITICAL GOSSIP, Q4

S E C R E T JAKARTA 005851 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2016 TAGS: PINR PGOV PTER KISL ID SUBJECT: INDONESIAN BIOGRAPHICAL AND POLITICAL GOSSIP, Q4 2005/Q1 2006 REF: A. JAKARTA 5217 (ECONOMIC NATIONALISM) ¶B. 05 JAKARTA 14077 (BIO TIDBITS Q3 2005) ¶C. 05 JAKARTA 10107 (BIO TIDBITS Q2 2005) ¶D. 05 JAKARTA 8768 (PD CONGRESS) Classified By: Political Officer David R. Greenberg, reason: 1.4 (b) an d (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (S/NF) Yudhoyono's relatives seen as key advisors on policy... Yudhoyono held off pressure on Taufik Kiemas... Yudhoyono directed intelligence agency to surveil State Secretary... Cabinet members seen as sympathetic toward SIPDIS radicals... Security forces' ties to Islam Defenders' Front (FPI) discussed... Playboy publisher paid off FPI... Details of political party figures playing money politics... Top legislator Agung Laksono sympathetic toward Iran... PKS Secretary General named as channel to Hamas and Muslim SIPDIS Brotherhood... Al-Irsyad allegedly contains group of Afghan veterans... And more. This cable is the latest in a series that has provided political tidbits and rumors, rather than more developed information. Most of the gossip stems from single but well-placed sources. End Summary. SBY'S RELATIVES SEEN AS KEY POLICY ADVISORS -------------- ¶2. (C) Former top Indonesian Democratic Party - Struggle (PDI-P) legislator Roy Janis, who broke from PDI-P in 2005, told us recently that he maintained indirect contact with President Yudhoyono through one of Yudhoyono's family members. Roy claimed that an informal grouping of Yudhoyono's relatives held more influence over Yudhoyono than even the GOI cabinet. Roy told us that this group of family members met regularly in order to discuss policy matters. The meetings included President Yudhoyono; First Lady Kristiani; Yudhoyono's brother in law, Gatot Suwondo, a top BNI official; and another brother in law of Yudhoyono, Special Forces (Kopassus) Brigadier General Pramono Edhi Wibowo. Roy claimed that Yudhoyono brother in law Hadi Utomo did not attend these meetings prior to becoming Chairman of the Democratic Party, but, since his election to the party's top position, he has joined the group. YUDHOYONO PROTECTS FORMER FIRST GENTLEMAN -------------- ¶3. (C) According to presidential Senior Advisor T.B. Silalahi, speaking to us in October, Assistant Attorney General Hendarman Supandji, who has a leading role in anti-corruption efforts, had sufficient evidence of the corruption of former First Gentleman Taufik Kiemas to warrant Taufik's arrest. However, T.B. said that President Yudhoyono had personally instructed Hendarman not to pursue a case against Taufik. YUDHOYONO OFFERS TO REPAY PARTY FINANCIER -------------- ¶4. (C) After the 2004 presidential runoff election, then-Deputy General Chairman of PD Vence Rumangkang met with President-elect Yudhoyono, according to former PD official Silo Marbun, a close associate of Vence. Yudhoyono reportedly offered Vence a position in the administration, as well as a check for 5 billion Rupiah (approximately 550,000 USD),to repay Vence's substantial contributions to PD. (Marbun described Vence as the principal financier of PD during the party's early years, and said Vence had likely poured more than 5 billion into the party.) Vence reportedly declined to accept both the check and the offer of a political position, saying that he only hoped to have Yudhoyono's support as he continued his business endeavors. In this discussion of campaign finance, Marbun also claimed that Aburizal Bakrie's contributions to Yudhoyono's presidential campaign totaled 200 billion Rupiah (approximately 20 million USD). (Comment: We believe the 200 billion figure is credible. End Comment.) SBY ORDERS BIN TO FOLLOW YUSRIL -------------- ¶5. (S/NF) Yahya Asagaf, an assistant to State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Chief Syamsir Siregar, claimed in late January that, a few weeks previously, Yudhoyono called to speak with Syamsir. Yudhoyono was angry with State Secretary Yusril Mahendra, because Yudhoyono had approved a week's leave for Yusril to go back to his hometown and deal with a family matter. Instead, however, Yusril went on a trip to Singapore and Vietnam. Yudhoyono asked Syamsir to instruct BIN officials to follow and photograph Yusril. Yahya claimed BIN officials in Singapore were able to do so and ascertained that Yusril was meeting with ethnic Chinese businessmen. Yahya, who claimed he was in the room with Syamsir when Yudhoyono made the initial call, said it was the second time that Yusril had made this sort of unapproved trip. CABINET MEMBERS ALLEGEDLY SYMPATHETIC TO NGRUKI -------------- -- ¶6. (S/NF) Yahya Asagaf further told us that, after attending a January 21-22 conference at Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) Emir Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's Ngruki pesantren, Minister for Religious Affairs Maftuh Basyuni came away favorably impressed and privately told Yahya that the Ngruki people were "good" and "intellectual." Yahya claimed Maftuh had decided to support the construction of a new road leading to the pesantren. Yahya added that Maftuh told him that BIN Chief Syamsir Siregar had provided money to Ngruki. Yahya said he had not confirmed this with Syamsir but suspected it might be true, as Syamsir might want to back moderates at Ngruki, to cause them to split with the more radical people there. SUDI LINKED TO ISLAMISTS, AGAIN -------------- ¶7. (S/NF) According to former top PDI-P legislator Roy Janis, at an unspecified time during the Megawati administration, Roy (who then held significantly more influence than now) received information that Sudi Silalahi, then working in the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs, was behind an outbreak of sectarian violence in the Maluku islands. To test this allegation, Roy asked Engelina Pattiasina, a native of Ambon who at the time had a seat in parliament, to raise concerns about the violence with Sudi. Immediately thereafter, the violence stopped. Roy interpreted this development as confirming Sudi's ability to control the situation and, therefore, his responsibility for the outbreak of violence. ¶8. (S/NF) A Singaporean diplomat also recently confirmed a perception that Sudi maintains links to radical Islamists. (Ref C has further information on these links.) The diplomat told us that multiple senior media editors had separately raised the story of a 2005 meeting at the end of Ramadan that involved at least one representative of JI fugitive Noordin Top, and either Sudi himself or, more likely, a representative of Sudi's. The editors commented that Sudi was a natural figure to take the GOI lead in such a meeting, because of his connections to Islamists. (Note: A November 15, 2005, "Kompas" newspaper article, available on-line, describes such a meeting taking place on November 7, days before Azahari's killing in a police raid. The reported purpose of the meeting was to broker a truce in which JI would refrain from bombings in return for the GOI not pursuing arrests. End Note.) YUDHOYONO ASSOCIATE PRESSURES JUDGES -------------- ¶9. (C) PKB Deputy Secretary General Yenny Wahid told us in December that PKB had "no other choice" but to reposition itself to support the Yudhoyono administration, given its precarious position of Abdurrahman Wahid, the PKB overlord who was then involved with a court case in which rival Alwi Shihab sought to wrest control of the party from Wahid. She claimed that highly influential people around Yudhoyono had sought to influence the court case, and "SBY's right hand man" -- likely a reference to Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi -- had sought to intimidate a judge handling the case. The "right hand man" sent associates to the judge to argue that Gus Dur was a nuisance to the government, and if the court were to help Gus Dur, it would be like helping to overthrow the government. ¶10. (C) Yenny said that the judge in question reported this incident to PKB figures, who subsequently complained to Yudhoyono. Yenny claimed that Yudhoyono looked genuinely surprised and said he was upset to hear this allegation. Yenny told us that Manpower Minister Erman Suparno's appointment to the cabinet appeared to be an effort to compensate/apologize for the interference in the court case. AKSA MAHMUD INFLUENCING PKB OFFICIALS -------------- ¶11. (C) Yenny further told us that meddling of outside actors in PKB's internal affairs reached a new level during the 2005 party congress, when Golkar Board of Advisors member (and brother of Vice President Jusuf Kalla) Aksa Mahmud began operating out of the hotel room of Alwi Shihab, dispensing cash in order to influence representatives of PKB branch offices. ¶12. (C) In a discussion unrelated to the PKB Party Congress, National Mandate Party legislator Alvin Lie claimed that then-PKB DPR Faction Chairman Ali Masykur Musa had fallen into disfavor with PKB overlord Abdurrahman Wahid. Alvin claimed that, during the March 2005 debate in the DPR on fuel subsidy cuts, Ali Masykur received "a lot of money" from Aksa Mahmud in return for assurances that PKB would support the GOI position. However, Ali Masykur did not spread the money he had received to others in the party; thus, PKB failed to support the GOI position. YENNY NOT YET A SKILLED BAGWOMAN -------------- ¶13. (C/NF) Yenny Wahid tried her hand at influencing delegates at the April congress to select the chairwoman of the NU Muslimat organization, according to a Singaporean diplomat. The diplomat, citing a conversation with Khofifah Indar Parawansa (the re-elected incumbent Muslimat Chairwoman),claimed that Yenny had personally distributed envelopes containing cash in an unsuccessful attempt to promote a rival candidate. This effort reportedly appeared clumsy because Yenny operated too publicly, often gave the money to assistants instead of the principals she ought to influence, and often gave the money to figures already committed to backing Khofifah (who won in a landslide). SECURITY FORCES' RELATIONS WITH FPI -------------- ¶14. (S/NF) BIN official Yahya Asagaf, who had sufficiently close contacts within FPI to provide us with advance notice of FPI's hostile intent hours prior to the February 19 vandalism of the Embassy, told us that, prior to that incident, National Police Chief Sutanto had provided some funds to FPI. Yahya claimed that, after the attack, Sutanto had cut off this funding. When we questioned Yahya's allegation that Sutanto funded FPI, Yahya said Sutanto found it useful to have FPI available to him as an "attack dog." When pressed further on the usefulness of FPI playing this role, noting that the Police should be sufficiently capable of intimidation, Yahya characterized FPI as a useful tool that could spare the security forces from criticism for human rights violations, and he said funding FPI was a "tradition" of the Police and BIN. (The principal BIN figure who provided funds to FPI was BIN Deputy Chief Said Ali As'at, Yahya claimed.) Yahya said the FPI had obtained a majority of its funds from the security forces, and, after mid-February, FPI faced a budget crunch. ¶15. (C/NF) Yahya added that former Jakarta Police Chief Nugroho Djayusman had called on BIN Chief Syamsir Siregar on February 18 in order to claim he was "not involved with FPI." This claim implied Nugroho had advance knowledge of FPI's plan for the February 19 incident. ¶16. (C/NF) In March, we met with Nugroho Djayusman, who admitted, "I used to be close to the radical Islamists." He then explained defensively that it was natural for him, as the Jakarta Police Chief, to have contacts with all sorts of organizations. This was necessary because the sudden release of energy from the Islamists, who had been repressed under Suharto, could have posed a security risk. "But it doesn't mean I was involved," he said, distancing himself from responsibility for any violent activities. ¶17. (C/NF) To illustrate his point, Nugroho claimed that Sutanto lacked useful connections, and when the violent FPI demonstration took place, Sutanto had to call Nugroho to request assistance. Nugroho told us that he (Nugroho) then called FPI Chairman Habib Rizieq and arranged the surrender of three men who had arranged the violence outside of the U.S. Embassy. ¶18. (C/NF) Nugroho acknowledged FPI had a clear track record of violence, but he characterized the organization as a small, relatively insignificant group. He said it was not ideological, except insofar as it opposed gambling, prostitution, and pornography. By contrast, he noted that "Ngruki" (shorthand for Ba'asyir's pesantren and, one can assume, the Jemaah Islamiyah organization) was a much more serious ideological group. PLAYBOY PUBLISHERS PAYS OFF FPI -------------- ¶19. (C) Ponti Carolus Pandean, the director of PT Velvet Silver Media (publisher of Playboy magazine),spoke to us in February about his efforts to tamp down opposition by Muslim groups to Playboy's publication. (Note: Until 2005, Ponti was a Deputy Secretary General of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party. End Note.) Ponti claimed that he had sought to head off likely opposition by FPI by meeting with FPI Chairman Habib Rizieq. Ponti said he first met with Rizieq in December at the Hilton Hotel in order to interview Rizieq for the magazine. On that occasion, Ponti paid Rizieq approximately 1,500 USD, ostensibly as compensation for the interview. As the controversy over publication of Playboy intensified, Ponti again met with Rizieq during the Idul Adha holiday and provided Rizieq with 40 million Rupiah (approximately 4,000 USD),ostensibly as a gift on the occasion of the holiday. Ponti noted that, predictably, many lower-level FPI figures came to his office to request smaller handouts of approximately 50 USD. (Comment: These efforts appeared to keep FPI quiet in the run-up to the magazine's launching; however, FPI-led sweepings of Playboy began within days of it hitting the racks and on April 12, FPI thugs vandalized the building housing PT Velvet Silver Media's Jakarta office. End Comment.) ¶20. (C) Ponti also told us that Yudhoyono originally agreed to be interviewed for publication in the Indonesian version of Playboy, and to attend the magazine's launching, a large event intended to take place in Bali (although later canceled, in light of the controversy over its publication). Ponti claimed that Yudhoyono recommended that photos of Indonesian women not be included in the Indonesian version of Playboy, but Ponti told us that would appear unrealistic. (Comment: Ponti's account of Yudhoyono's willingness to be interviewed by Playboy seems slightly at odds with Yudhoyono's public statements, which on repeated occasions have endorsed modest dress for women. End Comment.) AGUNG CONSIDERS INDONESIA-IRAN COOPERATION -------------- ¶21. (C) According to Arief Budiman, Chairman of the Golkar Party's Young Intellectuals Association (KIMPG),DPR Speaker Agung Laksono consulted with prominent Indonesian Shi'ite figure Jalaludin Rahmat, the head of the Islamic Cultural Center (ICC) in Jakarta, around the time of Agung's trip to Iran. Agung reportedly envisioned that the DPR would work with its counterpart legislature in Iran, but the ICC and Jalaludin would use their existing ties to Iran's Majelis Ulama to help push matters through the Iranian legislature when necessary. Arief claimed that Agung appeared sympathetic to the Iranian perspective on peaceful nuclear energy development and took on board the Iranians' claim they were engaged only in peaceful research. PKS CHANNEL TO HAMAS, BROTHERHOOD -------------- ¶22. (C) PKS legislator Zulkiflimansyah claimed in December that PKS, in its contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and with Hamas, encouraged those groups to seek political power through elections and participation in the political system. Zulkiflimansyah identified PKS Secretary General Anis Matta as the primary channel of communication to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. AL-IRSYAD: FUAD BAWAZIER'S TIES, AFGHAN VETERANS -------------- --- ¶23. (C/NF) In November, we asked Fuad Bawazier about his rumored ties to Al-Irsyad (ref B). Fuad said he had no formal position in the organization, but two or three years ago, some leading Al-Irsyad figures asked him to mediate a split between two rival factions claiming to represent the legitimate leadership. Fuad claimed he did nothing for a year, then brought the two sides together at his office in Kuningan; at his advice, they held a national congress, then split again. He also denied knowing anyone in Al-Irsyad who goes by the name of Fuad (as alleged in ref B). ¶24. (C/NF) In further conversations about Al-Irsyad, BIN official Yahya Asagaf reinforced concerns he had expressed to us previously about the organization. He claimed that a faction of Al-Irsyad included Indonesia-born Afghan veterans, and around 50 of these people had also received training (NFI) in Yemen. Yahya claimed it would be difficult for the GOI to crack down on Al-Irsyad, because Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh was also a member. HADI UTOMO'S LIMITED CONVERSATION SKILLS -------------- ¶25. (SBU) The Ambassador called on PD Chairman Hadi Utomo, who was accompanied by other top PD officials, at PD Headquarters in October. Hadi was able to exchange pleasantries in English but switched to Indonesian when discussing political matters. Even in this relatively informal setting, Hadi read from prepared remarks and deferred to his subordinates to ask questions after the Ambassador's exposition on bilateral relations. SURIPTO: INFLUENCE AND BACKGROUND -------------- ¶26. (C) According to a former Ministry of Agriculture official, after Anton Apriyantono became Agriculture Minister, PKS Board of Experts Chairman Suripto vetted all appointees to Echelon One positions in the Ministry of Agriculture, to ensure party loyalty. ¶27. (C) In October, activist Hariman Siregar discussed with us the accusation that Suripto had been involved in the infamous 1972 Malari riots. Hariman (whose leading role in the riots is well known in Indonesian circles) told us that Suripto was not involved in the protests, despite rumors to the contrary. However, he claimed that the allegations of Suripto's involvement caused so much stress for his wife that she became ill and died. Hariman claimed that Suripto was Fuad Hassan's right hand man when Fuad served as Education Minister (1985-1993),and, until reemerging with PKS years later, Suripto lost most of his influence after Fuad left the cabinet. PDI-P legislator Amris Hassan (Fuad's son) confirmed to us that Suripto and Fuad were close; Amris characterized Suripto as one of the political figures with the best connections to the entire spectrum of student organizations, ranging from the extreme left to the extreme right. PRESIDENTIAL SENIOR ADVISOR'S CHANNELS TO MEGAWATI -------------- -------------- ¶28. (C) Senior Advisor to the President T.B. Silalahi told us in October that he had repeatedly pressed former President Megawati to meet with Yudhoyono, but Megawati declined. His channels of choice to Megawati were: Puan Maharani (Megawati's daughter),Guruh Soekarnoputra (Megawati's brother),and PDI-P Vice Chairman Tjahjo Kumolo. GOVERNOR HENDROPRIYONO? -------------- ¶29. (C) BIN official Yahya Asagaf claimed that former BIN Chief Hendropriyono told him (Yahya) in late 2005 that he would run for Governor of Jakarta in 2007, and he was building a campaign team for the effort. (Since that time, Yahya has heard nothing more about this planned run for office. Other contacts have also told us Hendropriyono is planning to run, but few view him as a leading contender.) PKS TIES TO HEALTH MINISTER -------------- ¶30. (C) PKS Majelis Syuro Member Syahfan Badri told us in December that, among others in the cabinet, PKS also worked closely with Health Minister Fadilah Supari. He noted that Fadilah often invited PKS officials to travel with her to the site of health-related crises. (Comment: This may reflect PKS's reputation for charity works and the delivery of relief supplies to disaster-stricken areas. End Comment.) AMIEN SLAMS U.S. -------------- ¶31. (C) According to PAN legislator Alvin Lie, as of late 2005, the relationship between PAN Central Board Chairman Soetrisno Bachir and his predecessor, Amien Rais, had deteriorated. Therefore, Amien had made a deliberate effort to focus on international affairs, both in order to develop a statesmanlike image and to avoid conflicts with Soetrisno. ¶32. (C) To whatever extent Amien is focusing on foreign affairs, he has taken an increasingly anti-American tone. Most recently, he has publicly criticized foreign investors (ref A). Earlier, in a December 2005 Asia Foundation funded seminar, organized by the International Center for Islam and Pluralism, Amien became agitated and spiteful in an off-topic digression in which he derided the United States as a bad example for democracies. Amien cited the American invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, scandals involving the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, and even claimed that the USG's response to Hurricane Katrina reflected racist attitudes. In a separate appearance, reported by the press on December 7, Amien also warned that the GOI should refrain from searching Islamic boarding schools as part of a CT effort; otherwise, Amien said, the GOI risked stigmatizing the boarding schools and becoming a tool of U.S. imperialism. GOLKAR'S WISH LIST FOR CABINET APPOINTMENTS -------------- ¶33. (C) Golkar official Arief Budiman told us in November that, responding to President Yudhoyono's well telegraphed intention to reshuffle the cabinet, Golkar had formally proposed ten party figures for ministries: Theo Sambuaga, for Defense; Andi Mattalatta, for Law/Human Rights; Burhanuddin Napitapulu, for Housing; Aulia Rachman, for Law/Human Rights or Attorney General; Rully Azwar, for Industry; Paskah Suzetta, for Finance; Yuddy Krisnandi, for Youth/Sport; Firman Subagio, for Cooperatives; Yuniwati, for Women's Empowerment; and Agus Manafendi, for Energy. ¶34. (C) Comment: Arief acknowledged that Golkar was unlikely to receive as many as ten cabinet positions in the reshuffle. Nevertheless, this list is useful in indicating some Golkar figures who seem to have relatively prominence and the support of the Central Board. We believe Arief has sufficient access to top Golkar officials, especially to Agung Laksono, to acquire this list, which Golkar did not publicize. End Comment. TOMY WINATA ASSOCIATE LINKED TO SBY -------------- ¶35. (C) According to Sino-Indonesian legislator Alvin Lie, during the 2004 campaign, two Sino-Indonesians very active in supporting Yudhoyono's presidential candidacy attempted to lure Alvin into their camp. He identified the two as Ridwan Soeriyadi (who has ties to the Democratic Party -- ref D) and Sugiyanto Kusuma (a.k.a. Sugianto Kusuma),whose Chinese name is Aguan. Separately, Chief of the Taiwanese Economic and Trade Representative Office David Lin told us that he met regularly with Aguan, and that Aguan was a senior business partner of underworld figure Tomy Winata; Lin implied that Aguan represented the same interests as Tomy but was a more useful/palatable interlocutor for diplomats. (Comment: In a March 2003 "Gatra" magazine interview, Tomy confirmed his relationship with Sugiyanto, whom Tomy described as his "superior." Allegedly, Sugiyanto and Tomy are members of the "Gang of Nine" or "Nine Dragons," a leading gambling syndicate. End Comment.) PASCOE