An uphill battle<\/p>\n
It is certainly gratifying to hear, straight from the horse's
\nmouth as it were, that fighting corruption is so close to the
\nhearts of our presidential election candidates. In all their
\ncampaign speeches and statements, none of the five pairs
\ncurrently running for the highest posts in government neglected
\nto assure the public that fighting this by-now-ingrained social
\nscourge would be at the top of their agenda, should they be
\nelected.<\/p>\n
In a televised campaign debate, President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri assured participant Ikrar Nusa Bhakti that she
\nwould suspend the governor of Nanggroe Aceh Darrusalam, Abdullah
\nPuteh, from his post, pending the completion of investigations.<\/p>\n
By any measure, the corruption case implicating the governor
\nand civil emergency administrator of Aceh, is currently among the
\nhottest topics of public discussion here, and with reason. Before
\nhe became governor of that restive westernmost Indonesian
\nprovince, Puteh was a prominent youth leader and, at one time,
\nchairman of the Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI). As
\ncivil emergency administrator, he obviously commands a good deal
\nof authority. At present, however, the governor finds himself
\nimplicated in a corruption case that has cost the state Rp 4
\nbillion (US$5.4 million), allegedly by marking up the cost of
\npurchasing a helicopter for his province's administration. In
\naddition, he is implicated in a similar case involving the
\npurchase of a Rp 30 billion power generator for the province -- a
\ncase that is currently under police investigation.<\/p>\n
Circumventing details, on June 29, the six-month-old
\nCorruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named Puteh a suspect in
\nthe helicopter purchase case and summoned him for questioning on
\nJuly 6. However, the governor failed to appear on that date,
\nciting a busy schedule, but promised to come three days later, on
\nJuly 9. Again, he did not appear. Apparently weary of Puteh's
\nmaneuverings, the KPK in a letter to the President sent over the
\npast weekend, ordered her -- in line with the authority granted
\nto it under Law No.30\/2002 -- to suspend the governor from his
\npost. The commission informed the President that it would use its
\nlegal authority to force Puteh to succumb by July 14, today,
\ndespite the objections of Puteh's lawyers, who say their client
\nwill refuse to succumb until a pre-trial hearing affirms the
\ncommission's authority to do so.<\/p>\n
It will be interesting to see which course the case takes in
\nthe days ahead. The government, for its part, appears reluctant
\nto act. For his part, home minister Hari Sabarno is reported to
\nhave said that three main aspects -- administrative, political
\nand legal -- must be considered by the President prior to the
\nsuspension of a provincial governor. And, what if she should
\nrefuse to act? \"That is the President's political domain,\" said
\nKPK chairman Taufiqurrahman Ruki: \"The KPK has no authority (to
\nforce her). However, we have tried. Let the public make its own
\njudgment.\"<\/p>\n
It would seem that, in the long run, persisting to refuse to
\ncomply with the commission's request -- that is, on Puteh's part,
\nto appear to be questioned, and on the President's part, to
\nsuspend the Aceh governor from his post -- would do little good
\nfor either Puteh or the President. The public, of course, will
\ncertainly \"make its own judgment\" by means of voting in the
\nsecond round of the presidential election.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, it is the Indonesian public that stands to lose
\nthe most. In an almost equally prominent case that came to light
\nearlier this month, Nurdin Halid, a lawmaker and chairman of the
\nConfederation of Primary Cooperatives Association (Inkud), this
\nweek also defied a police summons for questioning in connection
\nwith his alleged role in a sugar smuggling scam. Law No.30\/2002,
\nby which the Corruption Eradication Commission was established,
\nis the strongest legal instrument yet to be produced by the
\ngovernment and the House of Representatives. Being an independent
\nbody, the commission is supposed to be free of the influence and
\ninterference of any other institution. And yet, those two cases
\nshow how challenging it is to untie the Gordian knot that is the
\nproblem of corruption in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Given the situation, to hope that the election and
\ninstallation of a new president and vice president in the near
\nfuture will mean the immediate break of a new day -- in terms of
\nclean government and egalitarian principles -- is to hope for too
\nmuch, too soon. Nevertheless, the nation has no choice but to
\npersist in its efforts to rid social parasites and self-
\ninterested leaders from society, or face the grim alternatives.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/an-uphill-battle-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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