FEDERASI SERIKAT PEKERJA BUMN BERSATU

Anti-trust ruling against Temasek 'could be flawed'
Source: Straits Times
Author: Salim Osman, Indonesia Correspondent




Legal News Archive

JAKARTA - THE trade union which triggered the case against Temasek's stakes in Indonesia's two biggest mobile telcos has filed a billion-rupiah suit against the country's anti-monopoly watchdog.

The watchdog agency, the KPPU, ruled on Nov 19 last year that Temasek had contravened anti-trust laws.

But the union, the Federation of State-Owned Enterprises Employees Union (FSP BUMN), is now saying that the KPPU acted illegally by proceeding with the case against Temasek even after the union had withdrawn its initial complaint.

The president of the 150,000-strong union, Mr Arief Poyuono, had previously said that he withdrew the complaint due to a lack of evidence and because he felt the union was being 'used by certain parties' to attack Temasek.

Yesterday, the Singapore investment company's lawyers said that if the union wins its suit against KPPU, the ruling against Temasek would have to be declared invalid.

The latest twist in the controversial case was revealed yesterday, as Temasek's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to postpone the hearing of their appeal.

The Central Jakarta District court is scheduled today to begin hearing the appeal against the KPPU ruling that Temasek violated anti-trust laws through its stakes in Indonesian mobile telcos, Telkomsel and Indosat.

Among other arguments for the postponement of the appeal, the lawyers pointed out that the FSP BUMN had withdrawn its initial complaint against Temasek even before the case began.

The KPPU had said in its ruling that the case was based upon the FSP BUMN complaint. But the union now wants its name deleted from the Nov 19 judgement.

Yesterday, Temasek lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said: 'If the district court were to rule in the union's favour, the consequence is that the KPPU ruling would appear to be legally flawed.'

Therefore, he said, it would be logical to postpone Temasek's appeal until the union's suit against the anti-monopoly watchdog was settled.

Mr Todung, who revealed yesterday that he had written to the Supreme Court to request a postponement on this basis, said he had also raised several other legal issues with a critical bearing on the case.

Among them, he pointed out that the state-owned company PT Telkomunikasi Indonesia, which owns 65 per cent of Telkomsel, had made an unprecedented application for 'intervention' in the case.

It wants the appeal to hear its evidence backing up claims that the KPPU acted beyond the limits of its legal authority and that its judgment should be overturned.

'We want the Supreme Court to consider the issue of 'intervention' in this case so that we as appellant would know our rights too,' said the lawyer.

He also told the Supreme Court the KPPU did not examine two expert witnesses produced by Temasek who could testify that the Singapore company was not guilty of all the charges levelled against it.

Temasek now wants to be granted the opportunity to present them at its appeal.

'We were also not given the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses called by the KPPU and this raises questions over the accuracy of their testimony,' he added.

And finally, adding yet another layer of confusion to the case, it remains unclear even which law the appeal will be judged by.

There was no certainty, Mr Todung said, 'on whether the trial will be based on the civil code or the anti-monopoly law'.

salim@sph.com.sg


Source: Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Permission required for reproduction.