Audit body 'lacks teeth to fight corruptions'

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Governor Sutiyoso claimed in his 2001 budget speech last week that his administration was serious in eradicating corruption from the city government.

He said that the City Inspectorate, now called the City Audit Agency (Bawasda), had enhanced its efforts to combat corruption, collusion and nepotism in the administration.

All of the efforts necessary were being made in order to implement clean government, he said.

The audit agency found 87 cases of suspected corruption last year, but only 59 cases were proved. In 2000, the body found 82 cases of suspected corruption, of which 24 cases were proved.

Sutiyoso did not mention whether the officials implicated in corruption were brought before the courts, or even questioned by the police or prosecutor's office.

Administration officials have cause to fear the audit agency as it has the authority to recommend their dismissal for violations of the administration's regulations or other irregularities, including corruption.

The agency also has the power to forward the cases to the police or prosecutor's office.

However, only a very few officials implicated in corruption have been brought before the courts. If prosecutions were taken, this was normally only after extensive reporting in the media.

Critics said that the city administration's audit agency failed to support the clean government policy as it was part of the administration. This prevented it from being fair and independent.

"The audit agency cannot function properly as it serves the administration. They tend to cover up their colleagues' mistakes rather than exposing them to the public," said lawyer Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute.

The agency, according to Tubagus, could only deal with irregularities involving civil servants, especially low ranking officials who violated the disciplinary code.

Audit agency officials contacted by The Jakarta Post refused to comment.

However, city spokesman Muhayat brushed aside the accusations that the audit agency had failed to function properly in eradicating corruption.

"The agency can't send a case (to the prosecutor's office) without proper evidence," he said.

He specifically pointed to the case of a former director of city-run Bank DKI, Maman Sulasman, who was brought by the agency to the prosecutor's office in 2000.

Maman was later tried in the Central Jakarta District Court for allegedly being involved in the manipulation of bank funds worth over Rp 800 billion (US$80 million). But he was acquitted of the graft charges.

"Don't ask us why he was freed. It's outside of our control," Muhayat said.

However, he admitted that the cases examined by the audit body were mostly violations of the administration's regulations.

Asked whether the administration would separate the agency from the administration's organizational structure so as to improve its performance in fighting corruption, Muhayat said, "We haven't discussed this."

Maman was the only city official who was tried on corruption charges in 2000.

In his 2000 speech, Sutiyoso said that the City Inspectorate had sent two officials to the court and 21 others to the police and prosecutor's office.

Corruption can, of course, also occur in the City Inspectorate.

In 1998, the city inspector himself, Sutardjianto, was tried by the West Jakarta District Court for corruption. He was sentenced to eight months of probation for receiving a Rp 1.699 billion bribe.