Gus Dur's plan on graft probe evokes skepticism

Gus Dur's plan on graft probe evokes skepticism

JAKARTA (JP): There is growing skepticism among anticorruption
activists over President Abdurrahman Wahid's claim that he had
solicited Washington's help to combat corruption and investigate
the wealth of former top Indonesian officials.

The head of the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), Teten
Masduki, doubted Abdurrahman's intentions, suspecting that it may
be a smokescreen to distract attention from corruption and
collusion cases within the State Palace.

Teten said he found it odd that Abdurrahman's plea for U.S.
assistance comes amid numerous allegations of the involvement of
presidential circles in various scandals.

"In my opinion, it's just Gus Dur's way of diverting attention
away from corruptive practices in the State Palace," he said,
referring to the President's nickname.

After meeting with U.S. President Bill Clinton on Monday,
President Abdurrahman Wahid claimed that Washington had agreed to
assist Jakarta in investigating corruption, collusion and
nepotism (KKN).

Without elaborating, Abdurrahman also specifically mentioned
possible assistance from an American organization called the
Center for the Study of Corruption.

Teten said any investigation must be conducted in accordance
with the legal processes in the country.

It would be very difficult to trace the wealth of former
officials unless the attorney general is directly involved in the
investigation, he said adding that international banking laws
have secrecy clauses which can only be broken by the attorney
general or the court.

Teten said that basically, assistance from the United States,
which monitors its currency distribution around the world, was
only relevant to trace transactions in U.S. dollars.

"If an official deposits money in U.S. dollars anywhere in the
world, the United States would have a record of it," he
explained.

Teten further charged that while making such pleas for aid in
combating corruption may look good abroad, the reality is that
little is being done at home.

"Just look at the current KKN cases, all are stranded at the
Attorney General's Office," he said.

Another leading government watchdog, Gempita, joined the
chorus of criticism, saying any technical assistant would mean
nothing without the government's political will.

"The government of President Abdurrahman Wahid has not yet
proven its commitment to settling Soeharto case. Political
interests have been taken into consideration in the way the
government handles the case," deputy secretary Nanda Hasibuan
said in a statement.

But a note of guarded optimism was sounded by the chairman of
the foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI),
Bambang Widjojanto, who said it would be good to receive some
foreign assistance since the government does not have the means
to conduct an investigation abroad.

He added that the independency and objectivity of foreign
investigators were more credible than local investigators, whom
he said were infected with the KKN "virus".(10)