AGO, House nearly go to blows over graft

AGO, House nearly go to blows over graft

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A brief commotion ended a five-hour hearing between the Attorney
General's Office (AGO) and the House of Representatives on
Thursday following a lawmaker's remark depicting Attorney General
Abdul Rahman Saleh as "an Islamic preacher in a village of
thieves".

Hosted by House Commissions II and III, the hearing kicked off
hospitably with discussions centering around the detention of
regional councillors accused of embezzling public funds.

Lawmakers questioned the detention saying it was unlawful,
because prosecutors had used Presidential Regulation No. 110/2000
on local council budgets that had been annulled by the Supreme
Court in 2002.

In defense, Abdul Rahman said the regulation was still
applicable for prosecuting cases that took place before the
regulation was revoked.

"Besides, we're not only using that regulation, we are also
using other laws, including Law No. 28/1999 on clean governance,
Law No. 20/2001 on corruption eradication, and other
regulations," he said.

The hearing became heated when certain lawmakers, mostly from
the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), accused
prosecutors of being biased and politicizing cases as many of the
detained local lawmakers were from PDIP.

PDIP is chaired by former president Megawati Soekarnoputri who
was defeated by current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in
last year's presidential elections.

"We're targeting those alleged to have committed acts of
corruption regardless of their parties or affiliations.
Prosecutors are keeping them behind bars, even though they have
not yet been proven guilty, because of the fear that they might
flee, destroy evidence or threaten witnesses. For those former
administration officials who have not been detained, this is
because we still lack evidence," said Abdul Rahman.

The legislators, who repeatedly interrupted Abdul Rahman's
answers, also brought up other issues, including reports of
prosecutors blackmailing and "playing dirty" with local
councillors so they could avoid being linked to the cases.

Since the beginning the reformation era 1998, no prosecutors
have ever been found guilty or dismissed for corrupt misconduct,
despite numerous accusations from the public.

A lawmaker from the Reform Star Party, Anhar SE, even felt
sorry for Abdul Rahman, who is known to have clean record, saying
he was like an Islamic preacher in a village of thieves.

Far from being flattered, Anhar's remark prompted Abdul
Rahman's anger, who said the comment was inappropriate and
hurtful, especially as he was accompanied by a number of high-
ranking prosecutors.

"We want an apology and the remark withdrawn," he said,
followed by a burst of approval from fellow prosecutors. Aceh
prosecutor office head Andi Amir Ahmad even stood up and shouted
loudly at the lawmakers, demanding their respect.

Lawmakers joined in the commotion, telling him to leave the
room.

Hearing chairman Teras Narang said legislators did not have to
apologize or withdraw their statements because lawmakers had
immunity under Law No. 22/2003 on the position of legislators and
councillors.

In response, Abdul Rahman quoted the same law saying that
legislators were obliged to uphold ethics and norms in their
relationships with other institutions.

Both sides eventually decided to end the hearing without
making any decisions. Abdul Rahman and Teras made their peace by
shaking hands and pressing cheeks.