'I've known Kong for about 20
years'
Indonesian who gave church $600,000 'love
gift' says he's friends with City Harvest founder
CLOSE: (Left) Mr Wahju
Hanafi (far left) with City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee. Mr
Wahju (below) is the joint owner of a posh Sentosa Cove penthouse
which Kong's family calls home. PICTURE:INTERNET
PASTORAL: Mr Wahju (in shades) see himself
as a 'pastor' to his workers, Kong Hee said previously.
REPORT: KOH HUI
TENG
JUST who is Mr Wahju Hanafi?
He's an Indonesian business, a City Harvest Church (CHC)
member and a long-time friend of church founder Kong Hee.
He is also the man who made a "love gift" to the church -
a $600,000 donation to the church's building fund. The money was
"intended for specific pastors and employees".
Mr Wahju's name cropped up in the Commissioner of
Charities' statement on Tuesday, after an inquiry into financial
irregularities at the church.
Where and how his donation was spent became part of the
investigation.
Mr Wahju's name popped up again when The New Paper
checked on Kong's last-known address.
Mr Wahju, 52, confirmed to TNP over the phone from Papua
New Guinea (PNG) yesterday that he has a Sentosa property at Ocean
Drive, but does not live there.
He said: "I've known Kong Hee for about 20 years. We're
friends...
"I heard about what happened to him (on Tuesday) from
reports."
But he did not answer when asked about how he felt upon
learning of Kong's arrest.
By all accounts, Mr Wahju is a man of great wealth, with
business interests spanning from California in the US TO Capetown
in South Africa.
There's also the glass factory, PT The First National
Glassware, in Jakarta, Indonesia, that he heads, and a 14-outlet
supermarket chain, Super Value Stores, in PNG.
The supermarket managing director, who is based in PNG,
flies to Singapore every month. He is married with four
children.
Mr Wahju's childhood was reportedly tough.
Previous reports from CHC's newsletter Harvest Times said
he had to borrow $500 from his father's business contact every
month just to saty in school.
In 1978, when Mr Wahju was 18 years old, his girlfriend's
brother (now his brother-in-law) offered him a job in PNG.
In 1986, at age 26, Mr Wahju opened the first Super Value
Store retail outlet in Mount Hagen, PNG's third biggest city.
Today, the supermarket chain has more than 1,100 people
on its payroll and is the main wholesaler for brands like Puma and
Indofood.
Two of Mr Wahju's daughters help run the business.
"People find it hard to believe that we are one of the
biggest companies in Papua New Guinea because half the time, I'm
not even there," Mr Wahju had told Harvest Times in 2005.
"Yet everything still runs well. I credit this to God's
grace and the excellent stewardship of my staff."
Mr Wahju's wife, whom he acknowledged for sharing his
vision, is based in Melbourne, Australia.
"She handles all the properties," he said.
Kong had previously said of his friend, who joined the
church in 1993: "Wahju started seeing himself not just an employer
but a 'pastor' to his workers.
Shares Kong's sermons
"He use my sermons and
shares biblical principles four times a week in his company."
While Kong has a high profile both inside and outside
church circles, Mr Wahju is less known.
Of the five City Harvest churchgoers TNP spoke with, only
one had heard about him.
A delivery assistant who wanted to be known only as
Vince, 33, said Mr Vince, 33 said Mr Wahju appeared to be Kong's
close friend.
"He usually goes up on stage and pastor Kong will
interview him," he said.
According to him, the interviews tend to involve a suited
Mr Wahju talking about how his business had been blessed because of
the church.
Vince added: "To me, he was quite ordinary, except for
the fact that he did a lot of business.
"I don't know what kind of business or how big, but I'm
guessing it's a lot."
According to Harvest Times in 2007, Mr Wahju had over the
years donated almost $6 million to the church.
He had made close to $30 million by then.
When asked about his Indonesian glass factory being
mentioned in Kong's case, Mr Wahju sounded angry.
"I don't have to answer your questions," he replied.
News, The New Paper, Thursday, June 28 2012, Pg 6
