Government antigraft commitment questioned<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The fight against corruption in the country will bear fruit only
\nif the government brings to justice a number of high-profile
\ncorruptors, an activist said.<\/p>\n
\"It (the government) should first jail high-profile state
\nofficials and businesspeople who are implicated in cases of
\ncorruption and abuse of power, so that people will believe the
\ngovernment is serious in this endeavor,\" the secretary of the
\nNational Law Commission (KHN), Frans Hendra Winarta, said.<\/p>\n
He said the planned establishment of an anticorruption
\ncommission, which would be given extraordinary powers, would be
\nfutile if the government lacked the political will to stamp out
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
\"This is not the first time the idea of an anticorruption
\ncommission has emerged. We had many such commissions in the past,
\nbut all failed because there was no political support from the
\ngovernment,\" he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Hendra was commenting on the decision by the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office to halt investigations into alleged corruption
\ncases involving cronies of former president Soeharto. The office
\nsaid there was not enough evidence to charge the businesspeople.<\/p>\n
Law No. 30\/2002 on corruption, which was passed last November,
\nstipulates that an anticorruption commission must be up and
\nrunning by Dec. 27 of this year. The commission will have the
\nauthority to conduct investigations and file lawsuits against
\nstate officials implicated in corruption cases that cause loses
\nto the state of at least Rp 1 billion (US$117,000).<\/p>\n
Thus far, the government has only begun proposing names for
\nthe committee that will select candidates for the anticorruption
\ncommission.<\/p>\n
There have been numerous complaints that the government is
\ndragging its feet in establishing the commission.<\/p>\n
The People's Consultative Assembly, in its annual session
\nearlier this month, recommended the quick establishment of the
\nanticorruption commission, on the grounds that corruption in the
\ncountry had reached alarming levels. Indonesia has been rated as
\none of the most corrupt countries in the world by a number of
\ninternational research centers.<\/p>\n
Hendra said without a strong commitment from the government,
\nthe fate of the planned anticorruption commission would be the
\nsame as that of earlier commissions set up by the government,
\nincluding the KHN itself, the National Ombudsman Commission and
\nthe Public Officials Wealth Audit Commission, which were left
\npowerless by a lack of government support.<\/p>\n
The KHN, established during the administration of former
\npresident Abdurrahman Wahid, is struggling to make itself heard
\nby President Megawati Soekarnoputri, while also dealing with a
\nlack of funding.<\/p>\n
Contacted separately, a legislator from Megawati's Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Firman Jaya Daeli,
\nsaid the establishment of the anticorruption commission would
\nmark a breakthrough in the drive against corruption.<\/p>\n
\"The planned commission is the legal answer to the political
\ndeadlock in resolving rampant corruption cases involving high-
\nprofile state officials,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
He said the independent nature of the planned commission would
\ndeter interference from other institutions. \"Besides, those who
\nwill sit as commissioners will be public figures with integrity.\"<\/p>\n
He dismissed public skepticism over the effectiveness of the
\nplanned commission, saying: \"Stamping out corruption is not an
\neasy task, but we have to start somewhere.\"<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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