Antigraft bill passed by House

Antigraft bill passed by House

JAKARTA (JP): The death penalty awaits convicted corruptors
when the new antigraft bill, which the House of Representatives
endorsed on Friday, comes into effect.

The four House factions in a plenary session chaired by House
Deputy Speaker Lt. Gen. Hari Sabarno lauded the new law, which
promises greater authority for law enforcers, as proof of the
government's commitment to pursue corruption cases.

Agus Muhyidin of the ruling Golkar Party faction said the
special committee in charge of the bill had made substantial
progress in their deliberations. He said new ideas had been
introduced so that the completed document would be an effective
legal tool for the next government.

"The law gives more authority to law enforcers, including the
National Police, the Attorney General's Office and judges in
their investigations, prosecution and dispensing of punishment.

"Law enforcers will be allowed to receive information on
corruption from all sides, including parties whose identity will
remain confidential," he said at the plenary session.

Maj. Gen. Budi Santoso, deputy chairman of the military
faction, said the law would mean that public officials,
corporations and bank creditors would be forced to reconsider
committing crimes. He said the law introduces the death penalty
as the maximum punishment for convicted corruptors and
embezzlers.

"This law with harsh sanctions, plus the law on clean
governance that we passed in May, is expected to be an effective
future means for the campaign against corruption," he said after
the meeting.

The clean governance law stipulates that new public officials
declare their personal assets and their corporations' assets
before taking on their jobs.

State Secretary/Justice Minister Muladi, who represented the
government in the plenary session, also hailed the law. He said
with the greater authority invested in the law, law enforcers
would be able to escalate their investigative powers when
handling corruption cases.

"In handling corruption cases in the banking sector, for
example, law enforcers will be allowed to freeze a suspect's bank
account, and will be able to ask the central bank to reveal their
bank accounts," he said.

The minister said the new law, which will replace the 1970
Anticorruption Law, introduces a system of a "balanced burden of
evidence" in corruption investigations.

"Under this system, a suspect can be made to explain how they
obtained their wealth and that of his/her family. But, at the
same time, there is a guarantee of the suspect's right for self-
defense to prove that he/she is not guilty," Muladi said.

The minister said the death sentence would be handed down on
those found to have committed corruption more than once, those
who were involved in major embezzlement cases, and to those who
took advantage of situations during a state of emergency,
national disasters and economic crises.

"The law also threatens a maximum 20-year jail sentence," he
said.

The minister said in the next two years, an independent
anticorruption agency would be set up to help eradicate
corruption. "The agency will be run by independent professionals
and chaired by the attorney general."

Commenting about the newly introduced bill on state security,
the minister said the government was open to public comments and
suggestions about the document. He reiterated, however, that the
law was needed in a state of emergency.

"The creation of the bill is in accordance with all laws and
bills aimed at improving the people's social welfare. In a state
of emergency, a martial law is needed to restore order and
security as well as to maintain national unity."

He said the bill was in substance better than the 1959 State
of Emergency Law.

Syamsu Rizal Panggabean, director of the security and peace
studies department at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, said
the bill stipulates that riots and separatist efforts could no
longer be handled by military repression.

"Violence and separatism movements can only be handled through
a democratic political process," he said. (rms/44)