Attorney general defends probe against whistle-blower<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh has struck back at critics
\nwho have accused prosecutors of politicizing the graft
\ninvestigation into former state auditor Khairiansyah Salman, who
\nhelped reveal corruption cases in the General Elections
\nCommission (KPU).<\/p>\n
\"This is merely a graft case investigation. Only those who
\nthink it is being politicized think like that,\" he told the press
\nhere on Friday.<\/p>\n
Abdul Rahman lamented the Berlin-based Transparency
\nInternational (TI) Indonesia's move to confer its Integrity Award
\non Khairiansyah for blowing the whistle on graft within the KPU.<\/p>\n
\"I just want to remind them (TI) that they should be more
\ncareful in presenting awards,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Days after being awarded by TI, Khairiansyah was declared by
\nthe Attorney General's Office a suspect in a haj fund scandal at
\nthe Ministry of Religious Affairs.<\/p>\n
\"Having such an award does not put anyone above the law.
\nBesides, this (haj fund scandal) is a totally different case from
\nthe KPU graft case, right?\" Abdul Rahman said.<\/p>\n
Khairiansyah is charged with receiving embezzled funds
\ncollected from pilgrims by the ministry. He allegedly received Rp
\n15 million (US$1,500) in transportation allowances in 2003 from
\nby the treasurer of the haj management directorate general at the
\nministry.<\/p>\n
The money was believed to have been used to influence audit
\nresults on the haj funds by a team of auditors from the Supreme
\nAudit Agency (BPK), which included Khairiansyah.<\/p>\n
Khairiansyah won the Integrity Award for blowing the whistle
\non high-profile corruption in which all KPU members and staff
\nofficials were implicated. Several have since been convicted
\nwhile others are currently on trial at the Anticorruption Court.<\/p>\n
TI Indonesia has criticized the Attorney General's Office for
\n\"singling\" out Khairiansyah in the investigations into the haj
\nfund scandal at the religious affairs ministry, while based on
\ndata from prosecutors, 18 other state auditors also accepted
\nmoney from the ministry to cover up graft cases.<\/p>\n
Unlike Khairiansyah, most of the alleged recipients remain
\nfree. Former religious affairs minister Said Agil Hussein Al-
\nMunawwar and former subordinate Taufiq Kamil are on trial in the
\nhaj fund scam.<\/p>\n
The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), a leading antigraft
\nwatchdog, also criticized the Attorney General's Office, saying
\nthat charging a whistle-blower could discouraged civil servants
\nand other people from reporting corruption.<\/p>\n
Khairiansyah, however, returned the money he received from the
\nreligious ministry to the state. He also returned the award on
\nThursday to TI so as not to tarnish the conferment of the prize.
\nThe Integrity Award was first given in 2000 to individuals with
\npersistence, courage and innovative achievements in combating
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
Abdul Rahman instructed the immigration office to ban
\nKhairiansyah from traveling abroad after he was named a graft
\nsuspect.<\/p>\n
Khairiansyah said on Friday that the award was not meant for
\nhim alone but for other Indonesian people in the future,
\nstressing that he would continue with his commitment to combating
\ncorruption.<\/p>",
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