Past graft cases not priority: SBY<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday that the
\ngovernment was focusing its antigraft efforts on the prevention
\nof corruption in the future rather than pursuing graft cases that
\ntook place in the past.<\/p>\n
\"I am concentrating more on preventative measures for the
\nfuture. If we only look to the past, it means delving into things
\nthat are far from certain. We would be better off preventing mega
\ncorruption cases from recurring in the future,\" he told governors
\nat a meeting of the Indonesian Provincial Administrations
\nAssociation (APPSI) in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Susilo asked the governors to support his soon-to-be-issued
\nnational action plan to combat corruption, as well as a
\nrecently issued presidential instruction designed to accelerate
\nthe antigraft effort.<\/p>\n
Citing his recent meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep
\nTayyip Erdogan and parliamentarians, Susilo said they had
\nstressed the need not to focus on the past as to do so would
\nprove to be extremely complex.<\/p>\n
\"But Turkey is successful, and is firm against corruption,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The President also said that the antigraft movement should not
\nbecome tainted with \"political motives\".<\/p>\n
He said that differences in political thinking between the
\npresent government and past governments should not be used as an
\nexcuse to victimize past officeholders.<\/p>\n
Asked to elaborate, presidential spokesman Andi Mallarengeng
\nsaid the government was determined to prevent corruption in the
\nfuture through the creation of a deterrent effect.<\/p>\n
\"The graft cases currently being handled by the authorities,
\nsuch as those involving Nurdin Halid and Adrian Waworuntu, will
\nproceed. But a case like that of Pak Harto will not be pursued as
\nit has already been taken to court,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Andi was referring to former president Soeharto, who briefly
\nstood trial for graft in the South Jakarta District Court. The
\ncase came to an abrupt halt, however, after the court in a
\ncontroversial ruling found Soeharto unfit to stand trial for
\nhealth reasons.<\/p>\n
Andi said the government would leave any decision whether or
\nnot to pursue a past corruption case up to the Attorney General's
\nOffice.<\/p>\n
However, he said the government would not hesitate to
\nprosecute serving government officials suspected of stealing
\nstate funds.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the President approved a request by prosecutors
\nrequest to question Blitar, East Java, Regent Imam Muhadi as a
\nsuspect in a corruption case. He also gave the police the go-
\nahead to summon Temanggung, Central Java, Regent Totok Ary
\nPrabowo as a witness in a similar case.<\/p>\n
Since coming to power in October last year, the President has
\ngiven his consent for the questioning of 37 state officeholders
\nand legislators on suspicions of graft.<\/p>\n
Susilo said that a number of governors had asked him not to
\nreadily issue permits for the police and prosecutors to question
\nlocal administration chief executives as they feared this would
\nirreparably tarnish their images, even if the charges were
\neventually thrown out in court.<\/p>\n
\"I listen to their calls. But I will continue to give my
\nwritten consent. I have explicitly told the police and
\nprosecutors that they must only question suspects if there are
\nstrong indications of corruption,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The President urged law enforcers to seriously consider the
\nconsequences before laying graft charges.<\/p>\n
\"Should some apparent irregularities have occurred in the use
\nof funds due to erroneous interpretations of policies or
\nregulations, do not immediately conclude it is corruption without
\nfirst conducting a thorough examination,\" Susilo said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/past-graft-cases-not-priority-sby-1447893297",
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