Suara.com – Jusuf Hamka, the tycoon and conglomerate of Indonesian toll roads, is currently being widely discussed. The reason is, like lightning in broad daylight, he has been trying to collect debts from the state.
The amount of debt that was collected was not small, namely reaching IDR 800 billion.
After investigating, it turns out that this debt claim began when his company PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada Tbk (CMNP) deposited Rp. 78 billion in deposits at Bank Yakin Makmur or Bank Yama.
However, during the crisis in 1998, Bank Yama was declared bankrupt until it was finally liquidated by the government. Since then, Jusuf admitted that he could not get his deposit money back.
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In this regard, the government argued that it had not paid its debts because CMNP is a company affiliated with Siti Hardijanti Hastuti Suharto or Tutut Suharto, who own Bank Yama.
Not accepting this reason, Jusuf Hamka then sued the government to court in 2012 and won his lawsuit.
According to him, the lawsuit has reached the level of the Supreme Court (MA) and is already settled. The decision states that the government is obliged to pay the debt along with the fine every month.
After the Supreme Court’s decision had permanent legal force (inkrah) Jusuf was summoned by the Head of the Legal Bureau of the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) Indra Surya. During the meeting, the government acknowledged the existence of the debt and stated that it would pay it, but the Ministry of Finance asked for a discount.
In 2017, the government’s debt to Jusuf Hamka and its interest reached IDR 400 billion. However, the government stated that it could only pay IDR 170 billion. Jusuf is willing to accept the amount of money proposed by the government. He thinks the important thing is his money back.
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In the end, an agreement was reached between the two parties with a letter of agreement signed by Jusuf Hamka and the Ministry of Finance. However, this promise was not fulfilled, and the government even tended to ignore it for years without clarity.
“I have spoken to the Minister of Finance with the Ministry of Finance, both orally and in writing, meeting with him, so far only making promises,” said Jusuf Hamka quoted on Thursday (8/6/2023).
To fight for his money, Jusuf went so far as to complain about the government debt issue to a number of ministries/institutions. Jusuf admitted that he had met the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.
During that meeting, Luhut had called the Deputy Minister of Finance at the time, Suahasil Nazara to pay debts to Jusuf. Not wanting to give up, the conglomerate also visited the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto to the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.
However, he admitted that he only received false hope, while the government’s debt and interest bills had swelled to IDR 800 billion.
Jusuf admitted that he did not want to make a new agreement with the government, because his previous agreement had not been kept.
Now, he still wants the government to repay his debt of IDR 800 billion, according to the interest rate set by the Supreme Court.
He emphasized that the debt of IDR 800 billion must be paid because it will be used for the continuation of the CMNP project. What’s more, CMNP is a public company which now accommodates investors’ money.
