KPU gets tough over fake diploma<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Numerous newly elected councillors across Indonesia could lose
\ntheir seats after the General Elections Commission (KPU) ordered
\nlocal commissions to take swift action against councillors who
\nused false school diplomas.<\/p>\n
According to data from the Election Supervisory Committee
\n(Panwaslu), there were at least 405 councillors implicated in
\nfalse diploma cases across Indonesia. They come mostly from East
\nJava, where 53 cases have arisen, followed by North Sumatra with
\n33 and Central Java with 21.<\/p>\n
The KPU issued a circular on Friday ordering local elections
\ncommissions (KPUDs) to take swift measures to deal with new
\ncouncil members accused of forging their school diplomas.<\/p>\n
The circular said that should a local district court decline
\nto hear a diploma forgery case involving a councillor, the KPUDs
\nwould need only a recommendation from the local education office
\nto make a decision on the status of the legislator in question.<\/p>\n
\"If the local education office decides that the diploma is
\nfake, the KPUDs can immediately remove name of the candidate from
\nthe list of elected legislators,\" KPU chairman Nazaruddin
\nSyamsuddin said.<\/p>\n
Several district courts have reportedly dismissed diploma
\nforgery cases against councillors, saying the charges had
\nexpired. According to the Election Law, the process of
\nprosecuting false diploma cases must not exceed 30 days before
\nreaching the court.<\/p>\n
Nazaruddin said a final decision on the authenticity of
\ndiplomas could also be obtained from local religious affairs
\noffices, which oversee religious schools.<\/p>\n
The circular also says that if legislators are found to have
\nused false diplomas after they have already been sworn in, their
\nrespective political parties must replace them.<\/p>\n
In an earlier circular issued in May, the KPU ruled that only
\na final guilty verdict handed down by the Supreme Court on
\ndiploma forgery cases could prevent legislators from taking
\noffice.<\/p>\n
The KPU's latest decision was issued only after a large number
\nof the over 12,000 newly elected legislators nationwide had been
\ninstalled in their new positions.<\/p>\n
There is no guarantee local elections commissions will abide
\nby this new circular because the ruling carries no clear
\npenalties for violators.<\/p>\n
The public has also expressed concern about the effectiveness
\nof the circular, saying KPUDs could easily be bribed by
\nlegislators eager to hold onto their seats.<\/p>\n
Panwaslu hailed the KPU's \"belated\" decision, saying the
\ncircular was in line to its demands.<\/p>\n
However, it cautioned that the circular would not be
\nimplemented as expected by the KPU.<\/p>\n
\"KPUD members could have different interpretations of the
\ncircular, and we are worried that it will fail to stop fraudulent
\nlegislators from taking their seats,\" Panwaslu member Topo
\nSantoso said in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He said local Panwaslu offices throughout the country would
\nstart their own probes to find evidence against \"problematic\"
\ncouncillors in order to prosecute them.<\/p>\n
Topo also said the KPU was to blame for the rampant use of
\nfake diplomas. He said the commission should have carried out
\nmore thorough examinations of the required paperwork filed by
\nlegislative candidates in the early stages of registration.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kpu-gets-tough-over-fake-diploma-1447893297",
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