House passes clean governance bill<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives (DPR) endorsed on
\nThursday a bill on clean governance, which will oblige all
\ngovernment officials to declare their assets when they begin and
\nend their tenures with the state.<\/p>\n
The new piece of legislation, expected to be formally enacted
\ninto law by President B.J. Habibie, will cover the supervision of
\nall state officials including the president, ministers, senior
\ngovernment officials and managers of state-owned enterprises.<\/p>\n
\"Their positions are very prone to corruption, collusion and
\nnepotism (known by the Indonesian acronym KKN). This law will
\neradicate all KKN practices,\" Golkar spokesman Sofyan Lubis said
\nin the plenary House session to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n
According to Minister of Justice Muladi, who represented the
\ngovernment during the bill deliberation process begun in
\nFebruary, the government will soon issue four government
\nregulations and one presidential decree to accelerate the
\nimplementation of the legislation.<\/p>\n
The administrative bill is officially called the Law on State
\nAdministrators Who Are Free from KKN Practices. It will back up
\nthe No. 3\/1973 Law on the Eradication of Crimes of Corruption,
\nand the No. 11\/1980 Law on Bribery and the Criminal Code.<\/p>\n
The House is still deliberating an anticorruption bill to
\namend the No. 3\/1973 law.<\/p>\n
\"The government must intensively educate the public about this
\nlaw ... to prevent the impression that this law is not in line
\nwith the reform spirit,\" said Sangiang Siregar from the Armed
\nForces (ABRI) faction.<\/p>\n
The law mandates the President, as the head of state, to head
\na Permanent Commission of Examiners to oversee state officials at
\nexecutive, legislative and judicatory positions, and officials
\nassigned to state companies.<\/p>\n
The commission also has the power to audit state officials
\nholding office, as long as it is for clarification and not
\ninvestigation purposes.<\/p>\n
The court can impose a minimum punishment of a two-year jail
\nand a Rp 200 million fine (US$230,000) for violators of the law.<\/p>\n
Under the current system, newly installed officials are
\nrequired to declare all assets to their superiors, while senior
\nofficials, including cabinet members, must report their wealth
\ndirectly to the president. However, they have no obligations to
\nreport their wealth after completing their state duties.<\/p>\n
Habibie has been widely criticized for his apparent reluctance
\nto investigate the wealth of his predecessor, Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Soeharto's lawyers have even threatened to disclose Habibie's
\nwrongdoings if he insists on investigating the former ruler's
\nwealth.<\/p>\n
\"With the adoption of this bill, all state officials holding
\nstrategic positions, including the president, must abide by its
\nruling,\" said an Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction
\nrepresentative, as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
Muladi has expressed hopes the House will also pass a bill to
\namend the anticorruption law, to be effective in coping with
\nincreasingly sophisticated corrupt practices. (prb)<\/p>",
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