Independent watchdogs question lineup of wealth auditing body

JAKARTA (JP): Opposition from leading independent watchdogs is mounting against the lineup of the 45-member Audit Commission on Officials' Assets, which was announced on Thursday by the House of Representatives (DPR).

The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) and the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) questioned on Friday the procedures which led to the decision being taken and the integrity and competence of several of the endorsed candidates.

"We believe that a fit and proper test was not properly conducted by the House as many credible names are missing from the list," ICW coordinator Teten Masduki said in a statement, referring to the original list of some 204 names which was announced by the House last week.

Teten did not mention any names, but the likes of outspoken human rights activist Bambang Widjojanto, former member of the National Commission on Human Rights Baharuddin Lopa and former justice Bismar Siregar were conspicuous by their absence on the final list on Thursday.

Teten said that some of the candidates had told him that a fit and proper test had never been conducted and that they were only asked to submit their resume and to declare their wealth.

"We therefore call on the House speaker (Akbar Tandjung) to launch an investigation to uncover whether there have been any fraudulent practices in the selection procedure," Teten said.

He also called on the House to annul Thursday's decision as the selection process was not "transparent" and that there was "not enough public participation".

PBHI also expressed its disappointment on Friday, saying that the commission "could not be trusted as its lineup is the result of a fraud and a closed selection process".

"This commission can only be respected by the public if the selection process of its members was conducted in a transparent and democratic manner," PBHI executive director Hendardi said in a statement.

He claimed that the screening process of the 205 candidates had been "highly affected by 'political blocking'" within the House and that it was only conducted "to serve the interests of the political parties".

"We therefore reject the final lineup of this commission and call on the President (Abdurrahman Wahid) not to recognize the validity of this commission until the House sets up a new and more trusted commission," Hendardi said.

Among the 45 names are former chairwoman of the Indonesian Consumer Foundation Institute (YLKI) Zumrotin K. Susilo and economic columnist Winarno Zain. Former chief prosecutor in the investigation of former president Soeharto, Chairul Imam and former South Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office chief Gaguk Subagyanto are also among the names.

Both the 1999 Law on Clean and Good Governance and the government letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund call for the establishment of an independent commission to audit state officials' assets.

Analysts saw the hasty approval of the candidate list as an effort to meet the deadline set in the government's letter of intent to the IMF.

Earlier in the day, Akbar maintained that the commission was valid but admitted that the small number of legislators attending the announcement on Thursday reflected poorly on them.

Only 58 House members sat through the entire session, even though 335 legislators initially attended the meeting and signed the attendance registration book.(byg/jun)