DPR yet to accept decree on wealth audit commission

DPR yet to accept decree on wealth audit commission

JAKARTA (JP): The establishment of the Audit Commission on
Officials Wealth has met with an early hurdle as the House of
Representatives threatens to drop its support for the commission
candidates.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung and the chairman of the now
defunct House committee screening the commission candidates,
Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, were of the same opinion on Thursday that
President Abdurrahman Wahid's decision to short-list 25 of 45
people proposed for the new body was a violation of Law 28/1999
on clean and good governance, which is the basis for the
establishment of the commission.

"The government can not unilaterally cut the number of
candidates for the commission," Akbar said, citing an article in
the law which asserts the establishment of the commission is
subject to the House's approval.

"We could consider retracting our support for the candidates,"
he added.

According to Presidential Decree No. 242/2000, which was
signed on Sept. 2, the lineup was trimmed down for the sake of
efficiency. Of the 25 remaining candidates, 11 represent the
government.

The commission members will be divided into four groups
assigned the tasks of auditing the wealth of officials in the
executive, legislative and judiciary branches, and those at state
enterprises.

Included among the 25 candidates short-listed by the President
are the former head of the graft investigation into former
president Soeharto, Chairul Imam, Supreme Advisory Council deputy
chairman Jusuf Syakir and Masyumi Islamic Party chairman
Abdullah Hehamahua.

Those who missed the cut include Muslim activist Eggy Sudjana
and the chairman of the Indonesian Journalists Association,
Tarman Azzam. Consumer protection activist Zoemrotin K. Susilo
earlier declined her nomination.

Akbar regretted the President issued the decree without first
consulting the House.

"We have not accepted the decree yet. We are sorry the
government did not tell us anything about the trimming (of the
candidates)," Akbar, who also chairs Golkar Party, said.

He asked the government to announce why it had shortened the
list of candidates, all of whom passed a House fit-and-proper
test in July.

Akbar said the House's endorsement of the 45 candidates was a
three-stage process, including a plenary session of the
legislative body.

Disappointment

Ferry, the deputy chairman of House Commission II for legal
and domestic affairs, also expressed his regret over the
government's unilateral decision.

"The House has taken the responsibility of being criticized by
the public for several candidates (on the original list). So the
government should not have cut the list (because of public
objection)," Ferry said.

He said members of the committee which screened the candidates
were disappointed with the government's move, and many had said
they might revoke their support for the commission if the
government did not offer a clear explanation of its decision.

He said this issue could strain already shaky relations
between the House and the government.

"Someday, we might disagree with a bill sponsored by the
government. We don't want that to happen," Ferry said.

The integrity and competence of the 45 candidates for the
commission had been questioned in many quarters.

However, in a plenary session on July 6, the House approved
the 45 candidates, although only 58 of the 500 legislators in the
House attended the session.

The House came under a storm of criticism for selecting
candidates many people believed were affiliated with factions in
the legislative body. (jun)