- Tomy Winata
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Tomy Winata Born Oe Suat Hong
July 23, 1958
Pontianak, West Kalimantan, IndonesiaNationality Indonesian Other names Tommy Winata Occupation Entrepreneur Known for Owner of Artha Graha Group Tomy Winata (pronounced [ˈtomi wiˈnata]; born Oe Suat Hong on 23 July 1958;[1] sometimes written Tommy Winata) is an Indonesian businessman who works primarily in the fields of banking and real estate. He was born the son of a spare parts trader and dropped out of school in the seventh grade to sell home-made ice pops to support his family.[2] According to The Washington Post, he then "rose from a car washer and office boy to become one of the nation's richest men".[2] In 2006, he was listed as #35 on a Forbes list of "the 40 richest men in Indonesia", with an estimated worth of $110 million USD.[3]
Business ventures
Winata owns numerous businesses under the banner Artha Graha Group. One of them, the consortium PT Bangungraha Sejahtera Mulia, received support from the governors of Banten and Lampung to be the lead contractor in the construction of the Sunda Strait Bridge[4] and was eventually chosen.[5]
He has looked for business ventures outside of Indonesia, including in Timor L'Este.[6]
In addition to his other businesses, Winata runs a "tiger rescue center" in Tambling Nature Wildlife Conservation Park, in which he attempts to reintroduce "conflict tigers"—tigers that have attacked or killed humans—into the wild.[7]
Controversy
Winata was involved in a high-profile case against the news magazine Tempo following an article's suggestion that he was involved in the February 2003 burning of the Tanah Abang textile market in Jakarta.[2] On 16 September 2004, Tempo editor-in-chief Bambang Harymurti was found guilty of "defamation and false reporting" and sentenced to a year in prison, but article author Ahmad Taufik and editor Iskandar Ali were exonerated.[8] BBC News described the case as being "widely criticised as an attack on Indonesia's press",[9] and Amnesty International declared Harymutri to be a prisoner of conscience.[10] On 9 February 2005, Harymutri's sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court of Indonesia, a spokesperson for which stated, "We want to ensure that journalists are protected."[11]
A US State Department cable published by Wikileaks described Winata as having "a specially close relationship" with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono[12] and alleged that he was the head of a crime syndicate called "The Gang of Nine" or "The Nine Dragons".[13] The cable also alleged that Winata had funneled money to Yudhoyono for "questionable political purposes".[12] Winata denied the allegations, dismissing them as the gossip of rival politicians[12] and stating, "I would prefer to lick your shoes [...] than for you to believe the WikiLeaks rumors."[14] He stated that his relationship with the President was that of "any other citizen".[13]
The Vancouver Sun and Asia Sentinel reported that Winata's conglomerate, the Artha Graha Group, was also implicated in the 2011 bribery of Singaporean politicians with traveler's checks.[15]
References
- ^ "Tommy Winata: Artha Group Boss". Tokoh Indonesia. http://www.tokohindonesia.com/daftar-tokoh/article/283-direktori/2054-tommy-winata. Retrieved 2 June 2011. (Indonesian)
- ^ a b c Ellen Nakashima (29 April 2004). "Magazine Case Tests Indonesian Press Freedom". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A42646-2004Aug28?language=printer. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "Indonesia's 40 Richest: #35 Tomy Winata". Forbes. 7 September 2006. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/80/06indonesia_Tomy-Winata_RSXG.html. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "Tomy Winata Didukung Gubernur Banten dan Lampung". Kompas. 31 August 2009. http://bisniskeuangan.kompas.com/read/2009/08/31/1953406/tomy.winata.didukung.gubernur.banten.dan.lampung. Retrieved 2 June 2011.(Indonesian)
- ^ "Consortium Teams Up with China to Build Sunda Strait Bridge". Tempo. 2 November 2010. http://www.tempointeractive.com/hg/nasional/2010/11/02/brk,20101102-288905,uk.html. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ Joe Cochrane (25 April 2011). "The land that Indonesia lost". The Jakarta Globe. http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/specialfeatures/the-land-that-indonesia-lost/437236. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ Norimitsu Onishi (25 April 2010). "Indonesian tycoon Tomy Winata bids to save Sumatra tigers by release back into the wild". Scotland on Sunday. http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/news/Indonesian-tycoon-Tomy-Winata-bids.6251813.jp. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ Sukma N. Loppies (September 2004). "Split decision behind Tempo Verdict". Asia Views. http://www.asiaviews.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3034:headlinealias3034&catid=1:headlines&Itemid=2. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "Indonesia editor jailed for libel". BBC News. 16 September 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3662230.stm. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "Case Sheet: The Tempo Trials". Amnesty International. 2004. http://www-secure.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA21/030/2004/en/6be8316e-d597-11dd-bb24-1fb85fe8fa05/asa210302004en.html. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "The Supreme Court overturns one-year prison sentence against Bambang Harymurti". Reporters Without Borders. 8 March 2006. http://en.rsf.org/indonesia-the-supreme-court-overturns-one-08-03-2006,11419.html. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ a b c Jonathan Manthorpe (16 May 2011). "Unfinished stories in graft probe". Vancouver Sun. http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Unfinished+stories+graft+probe/4789062/story.html. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ a b "Tomy Winata Denies WikiLeaks Allegations". The Jakarata Globe. 15 March 2011. http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/tomy-winata-denies-wikileaks-allegations/429084. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "Tomy Winata denies financing SBY election". The Jakarata Post. 15 March 2011. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/15/tomy-winata-denies-financing-sby-election.html-0. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "Indonesia's Judicial Flying Circus". Asia Sentinel. 12 May 2011. http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3189&Itemid=367. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
Categories:- 1958 births
- Living people
- Indonesian businesspeople
- Indonesian people of Chinese descent
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