Coy legislators should be brought to court: Amien
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais urged the Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) on Friday to take legal action against legislators who fail to declare their wealth.
Amien, during a visit to his hometown of Yogyakarta in his capacity as the chairman of National Mandate Party (PAN), called legislators who refused to return the wealth forms demanded by the KPKPN as arrogant and insulting to the state institution.
"I understand that KPKPN has to take immediate and firm action by pursuing legal efforts against the legislators, otherwise we will be unable to realize a clean and strong government," he said.
He was commenting on a statement by KPKPN executive in charge of the legislative branch, Abdullah Hehamahua, who threatened on Thursday to file police complaints against 88 House of Representative legislators and 67 Assembly legislators if they failed to submit their wealth reports within two weeks.
The legislators include President Megawati Soekarnoputri's brother Guruh Soekarnoputra of the Indonesian Democratic Party, Fahmi Idris of the Golkar Party, Oesman Sapta of the Regional Representatives faction in the Assembly and a deputy speaker of the Assembly, Lt. Gen. Agus Widjojo.
Article 216 of the Criminal Code says that those who fail to comply with state institutions that are formed in accordance with the law can be sentenced to a maximum of four months in jail.
Amien supported KPKPN's firm stance, saying the legislators had insulted the audit commission, which was formed under the 1999 anticorruption law.
"They are serving as very bad role models, and have sparked suspicion that some of their wealth may have been amassed through illegal means, making them afraid to report it to the KPKPN," Amien said.
He admitted that the audit commission lacked the power to get tough with the legislators, but said the institution deserved respect because it had been mandated by the anticorruption law to examine the wealth of state officials.
Amien also admitted that a number of PAN legislators were among those who had so far failed to submit wealth reports.
"To uphold order and nurture a clean and strong government, everybody must be equal before the law. Whoever they are, they must be punished for hampering the drive against corruption, collusion and nepotism," he said.
KPKPN also reported earlier that many judges had failed to clarify their wealth, as well as officials from the executive branch.
The media has reported that the assets declared by a majority of the 1,483 judges did not match their total income. A KPKPN official said some of the judges, mostly those in larger cities, were known to have spent up to Rp 1 billion (US$112,000) in one year buying cars or houses, although according to their wealth reports their gross monthly salaries were less than Rp 3 million.