Draft on anticorruption body strongly criticized
JAKARTA (JP): Five non-governmental organizations criticized on Friday the government's draft of the law on the establishment of an anticorruption body, arguing it did not give enough power to the body to combat the crime.
In a joint media conference, the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI), the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), the National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the Aid Watch Commission (AWAC) and the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), said that the draft did not reflect the commitment to fight the crime.
Robertus Robet from YLBHI urged that the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights who drafted the law should consider that such an anticorruption body should not be a subordinate of any conventional legal institutions.
"The antigraft body must be powerful and independent to ensure that it will not involve police and prosecutors, two institutions which are notoriously corrupt. Its first task should be handling corruption in legal institutions and public services," he said.
He explained that a similar body in other countries was empowered with several privileges including the legitimate ability of the authorities to open a suspect's bank account, to examine one's personal assets and to detain suspects during investigation and prosecution.
"To ensure impartiality and credibility, the body, which is mandated by the 1999 Anticorruption Law to come into existence next August, should be formed under a presidential institution and the team preparing its establishment should consist of credible figures.
"We ask the government to dismiss the current team, whose impartiality are questionable," Robertus added.
AWAC chairman Hayie Muhammad added that the draft, which is already on its 10th revision, would only make the antigraft body suffer the same fate as its embryo, the Joint Anticorruption Team. The joint team should be disbanded in June following the Supreme Court's decision to annul the team's legal ground.
Donny Ardyanto from ICW said the draft also missed the essence of the antigraft body's function to prevent corruption.
In an all-out effort to eradicate corruption, Kontras' chairman Munarman said legislators should revoke all regulations and laws which require the establishment of a joint investigating team for military officers implicated in a corruption case together with civilians.
"Many military officers are corrupt. Such regulations only serve as a tool of impunity to them. It's discrimination before the law so they should be annulled," he added.
The watchdogs also proposed that the government give the body the authority to shift the burden of proof in the handling of corruption cases to anticipate the abuse of power by police and prosecutors in the implementation of the new system. (bby)