Audit commission seeks help from defiant masters<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) has sought
\nthe help of the House of Representatives (DPR) to force state
\nofficials to submit their wealth declarations.<\/p>\n
Commission head Jusuf Syakir said that of about 50,000 forms
\ndistributed to state officials nationwide, only 31 percent of
\nthem had been returned.<\/p>\n
Jusuf added that the lack of power vested in his commission to
\ncompel state officials to submit their declarations should prompt
\nthe government and legislators to revise the existing law.<\/p>\n
\"We can do nothing. This is because of the lack of sanctions
\nthat can be imposed on recalcitrant state officials,\" Jusuf told
\nlegislators at a hearing with House Commission II for law and
\nhome affairs here.<\/p>\n
Also attending the hearing were representatives of the
\nNational Law Commission (KHN) and the Ombudsman Commission.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, many of the House members themselves have
\nignored the commission's request to report their assets.<\/p>\n
According to Jusuf, 168 of the House's 500 members were among
\nthe errant public servants.<\/p>\n
Presidential Decree No.127\/1999, which serves as the legal
\nfoundation for the KPKPN's existence, stipulates that the
\nCommission is responsible for auditing the wealth of all state
\nofficials, the results of which audits are submitted to the
\nPresident and the House.<\/p>\n
However, the KPKPN is powerless to force defiant legislators
\nto declare their assets as Law No. 28\/1999 on clean governance
\ndoes not provide the commission with the power to impose stern
\nsanctions against defiant officials or compel them to submit
\ntheir declarations.<\/p>\n
So far, legislators have given only a lukewarm response to the
\nKPKPN's appeal for them to submit their wealth declarations. Some
\nof them are proposing the setting up of a new anticorruption
\nbody, with the audit commission being incorporated into it.<\/p>\n
Jusuf also revealed in the hearing that his Commission had
\nfound indications of irregularities in the assets declared by 32
\nstate officials and expected that the Attorney General's Office
\n(AGO) would follow up on the findings.<\/p>\n
He declined to reveal the irregularities or identify the
\nofficials involved, saying only that they were from the
\nexecutive, judicial and legislative branches, as well as state-
\nowned enterprises.<\/p>\n
\"After signing an agreement with the Attorney General's Office
\nand the police, we will jointly assess these cases,\" Jusuf told
\nthe media after the hearing.<\/p>\n
The commission revealed that only 1,348 out of a total of
\nabout 14,000 national and local legislators had declared their
\nwealth so far.<\/p>\n
In the executive branch, only 41 percent of the 25,000 forms
\ndistributed had been returned, including those from the military
\nand the police.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, chairman of the Ombudsman Commission Antonius
\nSujata said that since its establishment in 2000, the commission
\nhad received 511 reports from the public at large.<\/p>\n
\"At least 45 percent of these are reports about the
\nperformance of the judiciary,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sujata, a former junior attorney general, emphasized that the
\nperformance of the judiciary was a major focus of public concern.<\/p>\n
He said he was trying to coordinate with the police, the
\nAttorney General's Office and the courts to improve the
\nperformance of the judiciary.<\/p>\n
\"We need to convince the public that the courts are not to be
\nbought,\" Sujata said, referring to rampant corruption in the
\njudicial system.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/audit-commission-seeks-help-from-defiant-masters-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}