Govt's commitment to fighting corruption questioned

Govt's commitment to fighting corruption questioned

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The government's commitment to the eradication of corruption has
come under public scrutiny due to its apparently lackluster
support for the eight-month-old Corruption Eradication Commission
(KPK), and failure to set up the anticorruption court.

KPK deputy chairman Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas told a seminar
on corruption that the commission had been unable to successfully
complete its institution-building work since it was established
in January.

"We cannot hire employees because of the absence of a
presidential decree governing the salaries of KPK employees. We
have been urging the President to issue the decree since
February," he said.

The government has also contributed to the delay in the
establishment of the anticorruption court, which will only hear
high-profile cases investigated by the KPK.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan has said that the
court could not operate as its special judges had not been sworn
in by the President as required by the legislation.

According to Bagir, the Supreme Court had yet to receive a
response from the President regarding its request for the
president to immediately officially appoint the judges.

Each panel of judges in the anticorruption court will consist
of three non-career and two career judges.

The failure to get the anticorruption court up and running
means that major question marks hang over the prosecution of a
number of high-profile corruption cases currently being handled
by the KPK, including that involving Aceh Governor Abdullah
Puteh.

Other speakers in the seminar -- Teten Masduki, who chairs the
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), and Catholic priest Benny
Susetyo -- also expressed skepticism over the government's
commitment to the fight against corruption.

"KPK cannot not act alone in combating corruption. The
government is supposed to provide it with full support so that it
can develop into a strong institution, while at the same time
improving the working conditions of police officers and
prosecutors," he said.

Teten said that the KPK would not be able to eliminate
corruption due to its limited resources and the fact that the
crime was not widespread among officials at the local level.

"I don't think the future government, be it led by Megawati or
SBY, will do any better as neither of them have announced any
clear platforms against corruption, particularly with regard to
the law enforcement institutions," he said.

Teten was referring to presidential candidates Megawati
Soekarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, known by his initials
as SBY, who will square off in the election runoff in September.

Benny, representing the Indonesian Council of Bishops (KWI),
shared Teten's opinion, saying that corruption would remain
rampant without radical measures against law enforcers involved
in crimes.

"We all know it's all only rhetoric. As long as the law
enforcement institutions are not clean, we can expect nothing,"
he said.

Benny called on the public to continue voicing criticism of
the government for its failure to fight corruption.

"Never stop criticizing the government's policies. Otherwise,
the corruptors will continue to be able to sleep easy. They will
keep on enjoying the good life while we have to pick up the tab,"
he said.