A long-running rivalry between the eldest daughter of the late President Suharto and media mogul Hary Tanoesoedibjo over the ownership of a television station took another turn on Thursday when a Jakarta court ruled in her favor.
The court gave Siti “Tutut” Hardiyanti Rukmana control of the television station, previously known as Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia but since renamed MNC TV, and awarded her IDR680 billion ($78 million) in damages.
In the civil case filed by Tutut, the judges ruled that a March 18, 2005, extraordinary shareholders’ meeting called by Hary’s company, Berkah Karya Bersama, was unlawful. That voided all of its decisions, including the takeover of a majority stake in the television station by Hary.
The dual ownership of TPI started in 2002 when Tutut came to Hary asking for help to settle her debt. in exchange for which she agreed to surrender 70 percent of her stake in TPI to Berkah. However, Tutut was later reportedly angered by Hary’s plan to sell a piece of land inside the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah recreational park founded by Tutut’s mother in an attempt to improve TPI’s financial position.
Hary was said his camp had injected up to $55 million in cash into TPI in return for a 75 percent share, with Tutut keeping the remainder. During the dispute, Hary, the chief executive of media giant Media Nusantara Citra, changed the channel’s name to MNC TV.
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