House starts screening corruption-busting aspirants

House starts screening corruption-busting aspirants

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Six candidates for appointment to the long-awaited Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK) boasted of their skills, courage and
honesty on Monday during a selection hearing with the House of
Representatives, and proclaimed their eminent suitability to be
drafted into the war against corruption.

The six were among 10 candidates to be examined by the House's
legal and home affairs commission. Four others will be examined
on Tuesday. Each candidate was questioned for 45 minutes.

M. Yamin, a prosecutor for over 30 years, said that he would
prioritize the stamping out of bribery.

Yamin promised not to make any deals with third parties, and
would investigate and prosecute high profile misuses of state
budget funds. He also said that he would not hesitate to
investigate his previous superiors.

Forty-seven out of 61 legislators attended the hearing on
Monday. Some of them, including legislator Setya Novanto, did not
ask any questions of the candidates. Many of the legislators were
seen leaving the committee room on various occasions for periods
of more than 15 minutes.

Another aspirant, Chairul Imam, a prosecutor-turned-member of
the Public Servants Wealth Audit Commission, vowed that he would
ensure the KPK would follow up on corruption cases involving
state officials whose prosecution has been delayed as the
president had yet to give her consent to the police or
prosecutors to investigate.

He said he would not hesitate to resign from the KPK if other
state officials or individuals managed to interfere with the
commission.

Former cabinet secretary Marsillam Simanjuntak, who was also
questioned on Monday, said that he hoped he could get involved in
reforming law enforcement, which was currently riddled with
corruption.

Lawyer-cum-activist Iskandar Sonhadji, another candidate, told
legislators that he expected to improve networking with other
institutions here and abroad to help the country eradicate
corruption.

Another hopeful, Taufikurrahman Ruki, said he would prioritize
corruption eradication in the public service, law enforcement
institutions and business.

Despite the fact that they often joked with Ruki, legislators
failed to question the former police officer, who once served as
a legislator with the military/police faction, over his reported
close relations with notorious businessmen in Malang, East Java.

The House earlier obtained a report from a watchdog group
saying that Ruki, the former Malang Police chief, had abused his
powers by protecting the businessmen, which were being
investigated for running illegal businesses.

Meanwhile, Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean, the fifth candidate,
defended the Attorney General's Office when a legislator said
that the AGO had shown no willingness to eradicate corruption.

"We have brought many cases to court. But we and the courts
often have different perceptions on corruption that lead to the
acquittal of the defendants," said the former prosecutor.

Panggabean, who is supported by Attorney General M.A. Rachman
for the KPK post, asserted that he would have to coordinate with
police and prosecutors when asked whether he would take over
prosecutions and investigations from the police and prosecutors.

Rachman has been reported by the KPKPN to the police over
alleged inaccuracies in his wealth declaration. The police have
yet to investigate his case as they are still awaiting approval
for such an investigation from the President.

Several legislators questioned him about the fact that his
daughter had recently landed a job with the Central Jakarta
District Court.

Before the members of the legal and home affairs commission,
each of the candidates signed a document declaring that the
information he had given during the hearing was true, and that he
had never committed any acts of collusion, corruption, nepotism
or misconduct in his previous employment.

The document also stipulated that the candidates must resign
from their KPK posts should they be proven to have lied to the
House.

Legislators are slated to select five out of the 10 candidates
for the KPK executive on Tuesday. President Megawati
Soekarnoputri is expected to establish the KPK on Dec. 27.

The KPK is referred to as a super body based on its authority
to prosecute and investigate high profile corruption cases. It
also has the power to take over corruption cases from the police
and prosecutors.