Antigraft teams may overlap
Eva C. Komandjaja and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The antigraft team set up recently by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may overlap with the duties of other existing anticorruption bodies, thus could put efforts to eradicate the crime in disarray, observers say.
Romli Atmasasmita, who leads the Corruption Eradication Forum, said on Friday that the establishment of the new team had given a morale boost to law enforcers to eradicate corruption, but it did not guarantee the effectiveness of the country's anti-corruption drive.
"The team reflects the President's expectation to lead the antigraft movement directly. But, whether it will be effective will depend very much on the National Police Chief and the Attorney General," he told The Jakarta Post.
Secretary-General of Indonesia Transparency International Emmy Hafild shared the concern, saying the existing anticorruption institutions had yet to perform satisfactorily.
"The presidential decree does not elaborate how the new team will coordinate the antigraft drive," Emmy said.
President set up the 51-strong anticorruption team, consisting of prosecutors, police officers and state auditors, in a bid to accelerate the antigraft drive.
It is authorized to investigate and prosecute graft cases, hunt and arrest suspects, as well as trace and keep their assets from possible laundering or illegal transfer abroad.
Many of the new team's jobs are exactly the same as Vice President Jusuf Kalla's team, called the Swindler's Hunting Team, which also comprises prosecutors, police officers and state auditors plus Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials.
Earlier the country welcomed the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which is specialized in investigation and prosecution of corruption cases which cause Rp 1 billion or more in state losses. The commission is authorized to take over cases from prosecutors and police and bring suspects to the anticorruption court.
The Criminal Code refers to the police and prosecutors as the law enforcers in dealing with crimes of corruption. But the reform movement in 1998 suggested radical moves to combat corruption, which had plagued the country under Soeharto's New Order regime.
Romli called on the dissolution of the Swindler's Hunting Team to anticipate possible overlapping jobs with the new antigraft team.
"The hunting team should be dissolved or merged with the new team, because they do the same work," he said.
Romli suggested that the government amend the existing law to enable corruption cases investigated by police and prosecutors to be heard in the anticorruption court, which he deems to be cleaner than district courts.
"The Attorney General's Office and the National Police also need to talk with the Supreme Court, because no matter how clean the prosecutors and police officers are, their work will be decided by courts," he said.
Meanwhile, Emmy asked the President to reform the bureaucracy first before declaring war on corruption.
"The President may be committed to a fight against corruption, but it will be useless should the bureaucracy fail to support it," she said, adding the President should introduce a forum to regularly discuss the antigraft movement with all stakeholders.
Commenting on the new antigraft team, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said the team reflected the President's expectation that law enforcement against corruption would run effectively.
"It will not strip the power of any (institution)," he said.
Da'i added that the team would work together with KPK and other antigraft institutions if necessary.
"It will not overlap with the duties of the KPK because the latter does fall under the president. There will be no overlapping, it's only a matter of coordination," he said.