By Inigo Montoya

9/26/09

Flor Lat Villapando,  the smallish, riding crop wielding Vice World Chairman / Treasurer and Controlling Officer of all Generated Assets and Activities of the H. MARTIN FOUNDATION, contacted the Times-Herald for “a nearly two hour interview” last week. The resulting article bylined by Jessica York which appeared in the September 22, 2009 issue of the T-H, stated that “the organization's founder, Martin Eddy Hornido Tirwatadinata, has "King Kong" amounts of money passed down from old Indonesian royalty and could easily pay off the U.S. Treasury's debt (about $11.8 trillion as of Monday).” 

Who is this Martin Eddy Hornido Tirwatadinata?  According the the H. Martin Foundation’s website, “he is the son of the Sultan of Bogor, Indonesia. … He is the Founder / World Chairman, Sole Funder and Sole Signatory of the Funds of legendary magnitude which have reached the highest monetary authorities of the U.S. Federal Reserve.  He is the Registered Physical Owner of the H. MARTIN FOUNDATION Far East Humanitarian Services. These International Assets are well documented in the United States Department of Treasury.” 

In an effort to validate the authenticity of the Sultan’s son, a Vallejo Independent Bulletin researcher contacted a Bogor resident in mid-August, William Symonds, who made this statement to VIB: “The Sultan of Bogor does not exist”. 

After the T-H article appeared that alluded to the trillions of dollars belonging to this Sultan’s son, another VIB researcher contacted Prof. Merle Calvin Recklefs who is a scholar of the history and current affairs of Indonesia.  He has written several books and  publications  on Indonesia, including 

• A history of modern Indonesia , circa. 1300 to the present (available from Amazon.com)

• War, culture and economy in Java, 1677–1726: Asian and European imperialism in the early Kartasura period

• The seen and unseen worlds in Java, 1726–49 

Bogor is located in West Java, and this good doctor is an expert on the history of this area.  The Professor’s  response to VIB? 

I would love to see the H Martin Global Community Center for Success at Mare Island and the Christian Help Center get even a small percentage of these Indonesian funds.  If these claims are true, who wouldn’t want this bonanza for these organizations that have been doing such great service for the community?

If these assets turn out to be bogus, a figment of one’s imagination, or even a scammer’s hook, a lot of lives will be affected.  It’s time to put this thing to bed!

I understand that the VIB editor has invited Ms. Villapando and company to a meeting with VIB’s  panel of experts to go over these claims.  I hope she accepts.  “We’re as real as day and night”, she said to the Times Herald.  Then I'm sure she won’t mind laying these out in the sunlight.