Akbar Tandjung

Djandji Akbar Zahiruddin Tandjung (born 14 August 1945), more commonly referred to as Akbar Tandjung, is an Indonesian politician who served as the Speaker of the People's Representative Council from 1999 until 2004. A member of the Golkar party, he also served as the party's chairman from 1999 until 2004, and was a member of the People's Representative Council from East Java from 1977 until 2004.

For the footballer, see Akbar Tanjung (footballer).

Akbar Tandjung
Official portrait of Akbar
Official portrait, 1999
13th Speaker of the People's Representative Council
In office
1 October 1999 – 1 October 2004
Preceded byHarmoko
Succeeded byAgung Laksono
7th Chairman of Golkar
In office
9 October 1998 – 9 October 2004
Preceded byHarmoko
Succeeded byJusuf Kalla
Member of the
People's Representative Council
In office
1 October 1999 – 1 October 2004
In office
1 October 1977 – 21 March 1988
Ministerial offices
7th Minister of the State Secretariat
In office
23 May 1998 – 10 May 1999
Preceded bySaadilah Mursyid
Succeeded byMuladi (acting)
3rd Minister of Public Housing
In office
17 March 1993 – 21 May 1998
Preceded bySiswono Yudo Husodo
Succeeded byTheo L. Sambuaga
5th Minister of Youth and Sports
In office
21 March 1988 – 17 March 1993
Preceded byAbdul Gafur
Succeeded byHayono Isman
Personal details
Born (1945-08-14) 14 August 1945
Sibolga, North Sumatra, Japanese East Indies
Political partyGolkar (since 1974)
Spouse
Krisnina Maharani
​
(m. 1960)​
Children4
Alma materUniversity of Indonesia
OccupationPolitician

He served as a minister under former presidents Suharto and B.J. Habibie. He was Speaker of the People's Representative Council (DPR) from 1999 to 2004. In 2002 he was convicted of corruption over the embezzlement of funds intended for food relief for the poor, but the conviction was overturned on appeal in 2004.[1]

Early life and education

Djandji Akbar Zahiruddin Tandjung was born 14 August 1945 in Sibolga during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. The son of Zahiruddin Tandjung and Siti Kasmijah, he is a Muslim Batak by ethnicity. He is the 13th of 16 siblings, four of whom died before adulthood.[2]

He attended the Muhammadiyah People's School in Sorkam, Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra province. He also attended Christian Elementary School in Medan, North Sumatra. In Jakarta, he attended Cikini Junior High School and then Kanisius High School, graduating in 1964.[3]

He studied at the University of Indonesia, where he was active in student movements and served as president of the Faculty of Technology. From 1972 to 1974, he was president of the influential Indonesian Muslim Students Association (HMI). He also joined the Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI), which is affiliated to Golkar.[4]

Political career

In 1976, then-Golkar leader Amir Murtono invited Akbar to stand for election for the party. In 1977, Akbar was elected to the House of Representatives, representing Golkar for East Java province. He was re-elected in 1982 and 1987.[5] In the late 1980s, when long-serving president Suharto started to more actively seek Muslim support, Akbar became deputy secretary general of Golkar. Under Suharto, he served as State Minister for Youth Affairs and Sport from 1988 to 1993. He then served as State Minister of Housing from March 1993 to May 1998. Under Suharto's successor B.J. Habibie, he served as State Secretary from May 1998 to May 1999.[4]

He was chairman of Golkar from 1998 to 2004, helping to rebuild the party following Suharto's 1998 resignation.[6] At the Golkar convention in December 2004, Akbar lost the party's chairmanship to Jusuf Kalla, at that time the country's vice president.

Akbar has remained an influential figure within Golkar. Ahead of the 2014 Indonesian presidential elections, he criticized Golkar's plan to nominate then-party chairman Aburizal Bakrie for the presidency.[7] The party ended up dropping Bakrie as its candidate and threw its weight behind Prabowo Subianto, with Akbar serving as one of his campaign advisers.[8][9]

In 2017, Akbar expressed concern that Golkar could lose legislative seats in Indonesia's 2019 elections because of a negative public perception of its chairman, Setya Novanto.[10] He said the party should make changes to improve its image.[11]

Corruption conviction, appeal and acquittal

In September 2002, Central Jakarta District Court sentenced Akbar to three years in jail for embezzling Rp 40 billion (about $4.8 million) in state funds that were supposed to have been spent on a 1999 food program for the poor.[12] Prosecutors had recommended a four-year jail sentence, although the maximum penalty for corruption and abuse of power is 20 years.[13] Two other people involved in the scandal, Dadang Sukandar and Winfried Simatupang, were each sentenced to 18 months in jail. The two served their time in Jakarta's Cipinang penitentiary,[14] but Akbar never went to jail. He remained free pending a lengthy appeal process and continued to hold his government and political jobs. In January 2003, Jakarta High Court upheld his conviction.[15] In February 2004, a panel of five Supreme Court judges overturned Akbar's corruption conviction on the grounds he had just been following orders in 1999 from then-president B.J. Habibie. After the ruling, a dissenting judge, Abdul Rahman Saleh, said Akbar had engaged in "corrupt practice" and was guilty of "shameful conduct because he failed to show minimal appropriate efforts to protect state money”.[16]

Honours

References
  1. "Indonesian court clears Speaker Tandjung". United Press International. 12 February 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  2. "PROFIL Djandji Akbar Zahiruddin Tandjung". PT. Viva Media Baru. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  3. "Akbar Tanjung". Merdeka.com. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  4. Leo Suryadinata (2002). Elections and Politics in Indonesia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 207–. ISBN 978-981-230-127-7.
  5. Kusumadew, Anggi (16 January 2016). "Akbar Tandjung: Saya Tak Bisa Lepas dari Politik (1)". CNN Indonesia. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  6. Dirk Tomsa (3 September 2008). Party Politics and Democratization in Indonesia: Golkar in the Post-Suharto Era. Routledge. pp. 46–. ISBN 978-1-134-04575-4.
  7. Margareth Aritonang, 'Golkar less than united ahead of elections', The Jakarta Post, 23 November 2013.
  8. "Golkar Fully Supports Prabowo as Presidential Candidate". Tempo.co. 20 May 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  9. Rostiani, Yeyen (14 June 2014). "Akbar claims that Prabowo-Hatta's electability increasing". republika.co.id. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  10. Manafe, Imanuel Nicolas (3 November 2017). "Akbar Tandjung Sebut Citra Setya Novanto Akan Gerus Keterpilihan Partai Golkar Dalam Pemilu 2019". TRIBUNnews.com. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  11. Damarjati, Danu (3 November 2017). "Akbar Tandjung Takut Citra Novanto Bikin Golkar Tak Lolos Pemilu". detikcom. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  12. "Akbar Tandjung Divonis Tiga Tahun Penjara". Liputan6. 5 September 2002. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  13. "Speaker of Indonesian parliament is sentenced to prison for corruption". The Irish Times. 5 September 2002. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  14. "Dadang Sukandar dan Winfried Simatupang Masuk ke LP Cipinang". indosiar.com. 16 February 2004. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  15. Perlez, Jane (13 February 2004). "Indonesian Court Overturns Politician's Corruption Conviction". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  16. Moore, Matthew (14 February 2004). "Judge's dissent on Speaker stuns Indonesia". The Age. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  17. "令和4年秋の外国人叙勲 受章者名簿" (PDF). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
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