Minister apologises to families of accident victims

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa has apologised to the families of accident victims as one of two vehicles involved was driven by one of his sons.

Hatta, whose daughter is married to a son of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, made the apology at a press conference at his residence here last night.

In a statement, the minister said he and his family regreted and were saddened by the road accident which occured early yesterday.

"My family apologise for the accident and will do our best to help the victims' families," he said.

In the accident, a car driven by Hatta's son Muhammad Rashid Amirullah Rajasa rammed into a van, killing two people and hurting three others.

A 57-year-old man and a 14-month-old baby boy died in the accident in Jagorawi toll road.

The minister left it to authorities to take further action including legal action against his son and promised to give moral and material aid to the victims and their families.

A police spokesman today said that Muhammad Rashid is a suspect in the investigation of the fatal road accident.

Hatta who is also chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) has been named as the party's candidate to run for the office of President of Indonesia in the 2014 presidential election.