Graft an 'extraordinary crime'
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The draft of a new anticorruption ruling considers corruption an extraordinary crime if it causes a minimum of Rp 50 billion (US$5.5 million) in state losses, an official said on Friday.
Under the regulation, those suspected of involvement in such an extraordinary crime could be detained for investigation.
Abdulgani Abdullah, director general of legislation with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, said the government regulation in lieu of law would likely be effective for graft cases involving a minimum of Rp 50 billion.
"We are considering it. But, the figure (Rp 50 billion) is subject to change, pending discussions with the National Police, the Attorney General's Office and the KPK," he said, referring to the Corruption Eradication Commission.
However, Abdulgani said the regulation would not adopt the retroactive principle, so it would only be applied for corruption cases that took place after its enactment.
If it comes into effect, a number of bankers involved in the misuse of the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support Fund (BLBI) in 1997 would likely escape charges under the new antigraft ruling.
Some Rp 144.5 trillion of state money -- which had been disbursed by the Soeharto government to a number of private banks to prevent a massive rush amid the monetary crisis -- was embezzled by bankers.
Some suspects were convicted of stealing between Rp 158 billion to Rp 2.6 trillion in the BLBI scandal. Among them were Samadikun Hartono of Bank Modern, Leonard Tanubrata of Bank BUN and the late Hendra Rahardja of Bank BHS.
The convictions were, however, deemed shameful, as most of the defendants received lenient sentences while the rest escaped justice. Worse still, the courts failed to recover the stolen money.
The government regulation in lieu of law would be enacted in a bid to accelerate the national campaign directly led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to eradicate endemic corruption.
The draft regulation also allows for the detention of big-time corruption suspects for investigation by prosecutors and police.
Prevailing laws do not stipulate that convicts be detained until after the Supreme Court hands down binding decisions upholding their convictions by lower courts.
Such a stipulation has been blamed for the escape of many convicted corruptors.
The new government regulation is also set to rule on the shift of burden of proof, witness protection and freedom of information, which enables public access to several state documents, such as those on finance.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Bagir Manan promised to prioritize the review of high-profile corruption cases in a bid to provide legal certainty for both the state and defendants.
"The spirit of the law is good. But we will ensure that defendants' rights not be abused too much. Therefore, we will deliver verdicts on time to provide legal certainty for both the state and defendants," he said.