Police awaiting permit in AG case<\/p>\n
P.C. Naommy, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The police have blamed the unresponsive state bureaucracy for
\ntheir inability to question Attorney General M.A. Rachman over
\nallegations of his involvement in corruption.<\/p>\n
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Basyir Barmawi said on
\nMonday that the police had already followed the set
\nadministrative procedures by submitting a request for
\npresidential permission to summon Rachman for questioning.<\/p>\n
\"We sent our request to President Megawati so long ago that I
\nhave forgotten exactly when it was. Even National Police chief
\nGen. Da'i Bachtiar also sent a request. Given that permission has
\nnot yet been given, it is obvious that the problem is not on our
\nside,\" said Basyir.<\/p>\n
Any investigation of senior state officeholders, such as
\nCabinet ministers, House of Representatives' members, or, as in
\nthis case, the Attorney General, requires the written permission
\nof the president.<\/p>\n
He said that it would be impossible for the police to violate
\nadministrative rules. \"We are the upholders of the law. What
\nwould happen if we were to violate it?\" he asked.<\/p>\n
The Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN)
\npreviously complained that the police were using the absence of
\npresidential permission to summon Rachman as justification for
\nnot investigating the allegations of corruption that had been
\nlaid against him.<\/p>\n
\"It's not true to say that we are less than committed to
\ninvestigating corruption cases. We are committed and consistent
\nin line with democracy and reform in this country,\" said Basyir.<\/p>\n
He said there was no need to review the progress of the
\ninvestigation as that would only need to be done if the
\ninvestigators came up against problems in questioning witnesses.<\/p>\n
\"Such problems have not arisen, and the investigators have
\nalready questioned a number of witnesses. The only problem is
\nthat permission has yet to be given by the President,\" added
\nBasyir.<\/p>\n
The KPKPN reported Rachman to the police in December 2002
\nafter it found discrepancies between Rachman's wealth declaration
\nand its inquiries on the ground.<\/p>\n
The attorney general failed to declare a luxurious house worth
\naround Rp 5 billion located at Jl. Penida 10 in the Graha Cinere
\nhousing complex in Limo district, Depok, West Java.<\/p>\n
The commission also found that Rachman failed to clarify the
\nsource of bank deposits in his name totaling Rp 800 million.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who has the authority to
\nappoint or remove the attorney general, refused to dismiss
\nRachman, saying that firing him would not resolve the problem and
\nthat the case was politically motivated.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-awaiting-permit-in-ag-case-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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