Anticorruption vanguards<\/p>\n
The five leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission
\n(KPK) were finally elected on Tuesday by the House of
\nRepresentatives from ten candidates put forward by the government
\nselection committee. But critics are already expressing doubt
\nover the team's integrity and whether it can live up to the
\npublic's expectations.<\/p>\n
The biggest disappointment seems to be the failure of such
\nhighly respected figures as Marsillam Simandjuntak, Bambang
\nWidjojanto and Mohammad Yamin to join the KPK.<\/p>\n
However, given the tight time frame -- that had not allowed
\nmeaningful public consultation on the selection process -- and
\nthe vested interests of the various House factions, the five
\nchosen candidates seem to be the best we can get for now. At
\nleast we will soon have a politically independent commission,
\nwhich was set up through a widely transparent process.<\/p>\n
We should give them the benefit of the doubt.<\/p>\n
The five KPK members, whose names will soon be submitted to
\nthe President for ratification, still represent a good mix of
\ntechnical competence needed for the investigation and prosecution
\nof corrupters. Taufiequrahman Ruki, a former police officer, will
\nlead the KPK. The other four members, consisting of three
\nauditors and one former public prosecutor, will act as deputy
\nchairmen.<\/p>\n
Certainly, the KPK is expected to be much more effective than
\nprevious anticorruption agencies because it is mandated by a
\nspecial law, (Law No: 30\/2002), which provides it with political
\nindependence and strong powers to investigate and prosecute
\ncorruption cases.<\/p>\n
Judging from the experiences of successful anticorruption
\nagencies, such as those in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South
\nKorea and New South Wales (Australia), Law No.30\/2002 is clear-
\ncut, strong, and comprehensive enough, as a legal foundation, to
\ngive more teeth to the KPK.<\/p>\n
The law, for example, stipulates that the KPK shall be
\nequipped with four departments in charge of prevention,
\nrepression, information and data gathering (research), and
\ninternal control and public complaints, respectively.<\/p>\n
The prevention department will take over the function of the
\ncurrent Public Servant's Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN), which
\nhas not been effective as it is devoid of the power to
\ninvestigate and prosecute.<\/p>\n
Public officials will herein be quite careful and thorough in
\nreporting their assets to the KPK, knowing that they are subject
\nto investigation and prosecution by KPK officials. This
\ncompulsory declaration of assets, combined with the powerful
\nfinancial intelligence unit which was established under the anti
\nmoney-laundering law, will make it more difficult for officials
\nto hide and launder their ill-gotten wealth.<\/p>\n
Most important, is that Law No.30\/2002 supports the KPK with
\nthe establishment of special anticorruption courts within
\ndistrict courts, with career and ad hoc judges, who will undergo
\nspecial training before they are selected and appointed directly
\nby the chief justice of the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
Moreover, the KPK will operate under a more conducive, social
\nand public opinion climate for fighting corruption, especially
\nafter the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin),
\nreligious organizations, non-governmental corruption watchdogs
\nand professional associations have set up coalitions for a
\nnationwide, anticorruption drive.<\/p>\n
Certainly the public credibility of KPK will depend on its
\nability to deliver early results with the successful prosecution
\nof several high-profile graft cases. Hence, the KPK needs to be
\nstrategic and selective about its work agenda, so that its
\nresources will not be spread too thin across insignificant cases.<\/p>\n
The KPK, for example, could deliver a strong message early on
\nby taking over several high-profile corruption cases -- which had
\neither been shelved or are being handled in a questionable manner
\nby the police or Attorney General's Office.<\/p>\n
This will, however, be possible only if the government acts
\nquickly to provide the KPK with adequate financial and staff
\nresources to carry out its monitoring, investigative and
\nprosecutorial responsibilities. Adequate funding will especially
\nbe crucial, to ensure the integrity and technical competence of
\nthose recruited to the KPK.<\/p>\n
The macroeconomic stability, as the World Bank observed in a
\nrecent report, has been clouded by widespread concerns over
\ncorruption across Indonesia. Corruption, nepotism and collusion
\nbetween officials and businesspeople was established as one of
\nthe primary causes of the 1997 economic crisis, yet very few have
\nbeen held to account for the massive plundering of the nation's
\nwealth.<\/p>\n
We put great expectations on the KPK, to reduce corruption by
\nmaking the cost of graft very dear and the chance of being caught
\nin malfeasance very big.<\/p>",
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