In the previous administrations of Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) used to criticize economic team’s policies. But that’s not the case anymore. At least that’s what we see in the last few months from its chairman Mohamad Suleman (MS) Hidayat.

That’s why when The Jakarta Post published an article on October 10 saying KADIN is not too happy with economics team, I bet the next day the paper will run revision.

“Frankly speaking, the business community is now skeptical about the team, particularly about its effort to address the classic problems of high-cost economy and smuggling, which have scared away investors,” Mr Hi (that’s how people call him, but be careful in pronouncing that. It should be like you pronounce He in English, not Hi as Hello!) told The Post (October 10).

But look at the publication of October 13. Mr Hi said, “Frankly speaking, this year has not been an easy time for the economic team as it has faced big external problems ranging from natural disasters, avian influenza outbreaks, high oil prices, and the second terrorist attacks on the resort island of Bali. The team spent much of its valuable time coping with these….” Bla…Bla…Bla.

What a pity for The Post to run such flip-flop statements. It is understandable though. Hidayat is a businessman and politician. He runs a property business with assets worth of US$400 million.

Mega Kuningan and Niaga Tower at the heart of Golden Triangle in Jakarta are among his properties.

Through MSH Group, he is involved in US$1 billion power plant project Tanjung Jati A with Bakrie Power (controlled by Aburizal Bakrie, Chief Economic Team in Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s cabinet).

Both President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and VP Jusuf Kalla had state visit to China to endorse this project with Chinese funding.

He is also an executive at Golkar Party led by Jusuf Kalla, the vice president. But don’t ask how Hidayat survived the financial crisis several years ago. He was member of The House of Representatives (DPR) in 1999-2004. During this period, he fights to settle his mounting debts to state agencies.

Father of six, Hidayat managed to escape criminal prosecution even though Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) found in its audit on PT Bahana Pembinaan Usaha Indonesia (BPUI), a state-owned investment bank, that the loans it channeled to MS Hidayat Group were full of irregularities and potentially put the state at loss of Rp590.7 billion (almost US$60 million). (Hope that Attorney General’s Office will reopen the case!)

Bahana’s former CEO Sudjiono Timan has been sentenced to 15 years in jail but later on flew out of the country and hiding as fugitive under Interpol watch. Hidayat and other businessmen who received the loans from Timan like Prayogo Pangestu (owner of Barito Pacific Group), Peter Sondakh (owner of Rajawali Group), and Arifin Panigoro (owner of Medco Group) are untouchables.

Altogether (plus businessman Agus Anwar who is also fugitive), these groups made up 80% of bad loans at Bahana. Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) saved Bahana early last year and no reports so far whether Hidayat and other businessmen ever paid the loans to Bahana and the state.

Born in Jombang, East Java province, in December 1st, 1944, Hidayat started out a real estate business in early 1970s with PT Puteraco Indah or Puteraco Group. Under his leadership, the groups expanded beyond real estates into trading, transportation, rattan, shrimp farming, and construction.
Hidayat was treasurer at Golkar Party during the scandal that almost put his friend Akbar Tanjung (former House Speaker and Golkar Party Chairman) in jail.

But that was just the past. Now, he leads a prestigious organization and has close relationship both with the president and vice president. He was the one president SBY ‘rely’ on to donate Mosques during New Order style Ramadhan safari started this week. Hidayat and Chaerul Tanjung

(close friend of SBY and the owner of Para Group and Bank Mega) donated US$20,000 respectively in the first stop. With billions of fortunes to come, millions of donation would be peanuts, right?
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