TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indar Atmanto may not spend his days in retirement gardening and teaching. The former CEO of Indosat Media media (IM2) faces the bitter reality of his life. A High Court judge has recently sentenced him to eight years in prison-twice the sentence he got in a District Court. Indar feels the sentence to be far from just, given his claim to being innocent of the charges laid against him.
"I will never stop seeking for justice," he told Tempo reporter, Jajang Jamaludin, who interviewed him last week. He said he will appeal to the Supreme Court for a review of his sentence.
What do you say to the High Court giving you a higher sentence?
I heard it for the first time from a friend, who had read about it in the media. I was shocked. The news really hurt. It wasn't true. I pondered about it. I needed a whole day to tell my wife about it.
What shocked you most?
I made my appeal in the hope that the sentence from the first court could be amended. Instead, I was given a heavier sentence. From four years, it became eight years. That's heavy. Then I was informed the compensation money was taken out. The next day, I looked for the news in the media. It was clear to me the Rp1.3 trillion compensation money was eliminated. That means there was some mistake in the first court. If something basic like that can go wrong, what about other issues? That's been on my mind ever since.
Two courts found you guilty. Why can't you accept it?
No. If I am guilty, well, that's it, the end. My friends will be sure to gang up on me. Just kick Indar out, they will say. Let the position stay vacant or be filled by someone else. No need for a judge to make an assessment. My friends are unlikely to defend me, they say. But the fact is that they still support me. Our relations are still good. At Indosat, I am still the chief of corporate services. I'm still working as usual.
When you signed the IM2-Indosat contract, did it ever cross your mind that there could be a legal problem?
No, because we work as professionals, according to the rules of the game. We are accountable every year to the shareholders. I have received the Satyalencana award from the President because I succeeded in developing the mobile broadband penetration. That is now the whole issue.
Now your sentence is even heavier. Will you contine to fight it?
Yes, with the support of my colleagues, my family and the company, I will keep on fighting. (*)
