Transcript
ANO PALA: No, no, definitely not. The minister's role is to make the decision and not be the process. The process goes through the departmental machinery and all those procedures were followed and as a person who believes in the systems of government under the laws, I allow that process to take place. And when it came to me, I made the decision. Whether you agree with it or not, that's a different issue. The process was complied with, and there were independent processors. And after that process was complied with, and recommendations made, I made the decision.
JOHNNY BLADES: Djoko Tjandra was wanted by the Indonesian government, he was a fugitive. Why did you allow the man to get a permit to PNG when you must have known they wanted him?
AP: Ah, yes, there was a process, like all the international organisations. Indonesia also has to go through that process. And that process did not come to me at the time. And even today, it doesn't come yet. There is an extradition treaty between our two countries and it was never requested, for me at the time and even today that fugitive request had not been made public not in the government. There was talk that Interpol was also involved. But nothing came up. So I'm still puzzled. If Indonesia wants him now they can always get him, and they could have got him but they never did.
JB: And Mr Tjandra, he's a PNG citizen still?
AP: He's a PNG citizen and he's travelling around the world, doing business... in the country and all around the world. Nobody in the world has raised these concerns, and all these things raised in Papua New Guinea, I don't understand. Papua New Guineans are raising it for Indonesia but Indonesia is not even raising it.
JB: Did you look into his background when you issued him the permit? You would have seen the fraud allegations... Bank of Bali stuff.
AP: Yeah I'm aware of that, and I was aware of that. And even today, those decisions have been overturned. And the man has been cleared under those processes.
JB: Did he invest in your province, Central, or your district Rigo?
AP: No, no, he never did.
JB: There was no rice project in Central?
AP: In the Central Province, yes.. but I come from.. yeah that's my province, yes. He wanted to do the project, and an agreement has been signed. It hasn't kicked off yet, but yes he has signed an agreement to do a rice project in the country.
