Anti-graft ruling to shift burden of proof

Anti-graft ruling to shift burden of proof

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The government is making a breakthrough in its anticorruption
campaign with the drafting of a regulation that will shift the
burden of proof to suspects.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin said over
the weekend that the regulation would consider corruption an
extraordinary crime, equivalent to that of terrorism.

While it does not stipulate the death penalty as the maximum
sentence, the regulation in lieu of law -- or Perpu -- is
intended to act as a deterrent, as it will require graft suspects
to be jailed for investigative purposes.

"Currently, a corrupter could evade prison pending a binding
verdict from the Supreme Court. We want them to incarcerate them
from the start of the investigation," Hamid said.

A number of individuals who were found guilty of embezzling
trillions of rupiahs in state money were able to flee the
country, as they remained free despite their conviction by a
lower court. Endemic corruption within state agencies have also
been blamed for their eluding the law.

Hamid said an extraordinary crime required exceptional legal
measures: "Corruption, to some extent, is the same as terrorism
and gross violation of human rights. That is the philosophy, as
corruption in our country is unbearable."

The new Perpu will shift the burden of proof to allow
investigators to probe the wealth of state officials suspected of
committing graft. The existing Law No. 31/1999 on corruption
eradication and the Criminal Code require investigators to prove
corruption, which hampered efforts to eliminate corruption, many
critics have said.

It will also provide witness protection and freedom of
information to provide public access to state financial
documents, as part of an effort to be more transparent in the
government's fight against corruption.

A witness of an alleged bribery case involving Supreme Court
justices was instead sued and convicted of defamation two years
ago.

The witness protection and freedom of information draft bills
were submitted to the House of Representatives for deliberation
two years ago, but the drafts had never been debated by the
previous legislature.

The president can issue a Perpu without the House's consent in
the case of an emergency, but the House must provide a response
within a month of its issuance. Otherwise, the legislature is
deemed to have endorsed the regulation by default.

Hamid said the new Perpu would apply only to high-profile
corruption cases.

Asked whether it would be enacted after the first 100 days of
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration, he replied:
"Before it is over. The president wills it."

A state official said Vice President Jusuf Kalla initiated the
draft in a bid to accelerate corruption eradication, as he was
dissatisfied with the progress of the anti-graft drive.

Susilo has also recently ordered Attorney General Abdul Rahman
Saleh to review his predecessor's decision to suspend
investigations into graft cases involving several businessmen,
including Syamsul Nursalim.