Arun Jain to be released soon: Indonesian embassy

Sudarshana Banerjee

NEW DELHI: Even on the fifth day of the Arun Jain and Rajiv Malhotra’s alleged detention by the Indonesian authorities, deliberations between the Indonesian and Indian government officials have still not been fruitful. However, some developments have hinted to hopeful release of Polaris officials.

Dalton Sembiring of the Indonesian Embassy assured that Arun Jain and Rajeev Malhotra will be released shortly. Speaking to CNS in Delhi he said, "It could be today or tomorrow. We would not want to speculate, but we have received requests from the Indian ministries, and are working on the issue. Indonesia is a free country, like India. Arun Jain is happy to the best of our knowledge."

Our government is checking with the police, and it will take some time. "We are looking into the matter, and trying our best to resolve it amicably and as soon as possible," sources based in the Protocol department of the Indonesian Embassy, which is handling the issue informed CNS.

Gunawan Rianto, Vice President of the Indonesian computer Software Association informed that the president of the association, Teddy Soekardi, is trying to contact the concerned parties - Polaris, the Artha Graha Bank, and the Indonesian police.

"As an association we are neutral. If Polaris has not made a mistake and unless the police has other evidence, we would definitely intervene." Rianto added that he had been travelling when the incident occurred and was aware of the detention at 2 pm Indonesian time when he came to work. "We are getting calls from the international media about the detention, and will do our best to reach an amicable settlement."

The contract between Polaris and the Bank Artha Graha valued close to a million dollars. According to company sources no fraud has been committed by Polaris Software. The issue on hand is a commercial one governed by a contract signed under Singapore laws with an option for arbitration only under Singapore laws. In this context, the detention in Indonesia (under Indonesian law) clearly violates the terms of the contract.

Readers may recall that Rajeev Arora, and Chander Singh, both senior vice presidents of the company have already been released on December 13 itself and they have returned to Delhi on Tuesday. Rajeev Malhotra, Senior Vice President and Head of Bankware, and managing director, Arun Jain, are however, still in custody.

And how is the corporate fraternity of India reacting to the apparently illegal detentions? After all, the people detained could well have been one of them.

Ramesh Kumar, joint president of Indalco, an Aditya Birla group company, voices his concern. "We have significant presence in Indonesia, including manufacturing interests, but we did not face any similar difficulties so far. What has happened with Arun is just outrageous. I do not have the exact details but Indonesia I would say is the most corrupt place in the world after some African countries."

K.M Pai of Belle Ceramics, relates a conversation which he had with the Sun Microsystems managing director Bhaskar Pramanik. "We were talking about our Ministry of External Affairs. If Polaris were an American company, we are sure that the officials would have been given an entirely different treatment altogether. Our External Affairs ministry will look after politicians, senior bureaucrats, even terrorists like Danees Ibrahim, but the business fraternity has to fend for itself."

Sandeep Gulati, Chief Manager, Exports, with Ceat Ltd., brings in the name of Rajan Pillai. "Custody should be the last resort and a custody without an apparent hearing is worse. What is the message we are sending across? As an Indian, when I travel abroad tomorrow, I have to answer questions on behalf of my country. The Indian government, especially the minister of external affairs should play a more proactive role. Would Indonesia dare detain an IBM official?" Ironically, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, declined to comment on the issue when contacted.

Arun Jain had started his career as part of Nucleus Software, with Vishnu Dusad and Yogesh Andeley. Dusad reacts very strongly to his detention. "Pramad Mahajan may be our minister, but what influence can he be expected to hold with the Indonesian government," he questions. "Polaris employs some 4000 professionals, and Arun is a friend - he is a rockhard professional and a good human being. Our government should have been more proactive," he says.