KPK to report ignorant officials to the police

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) warned both former and new state officials, including ministers and legislators, to declare their current wealth as soon as possible, unless they will face police arrest.

Deputy KPK chairman Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas said on Tuesday the commission had set Nov. 1 as the deadline for former and new lawmakers and Nov. 20 for former and new Cabinet members.

"If they ignore the deadline, we will report them to the police," Erry said.

Law No. 28/1999 on clean governance and Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK requiring state officials to submit wealth reports one month after their inauguration and completion of their terms.

Although the laws do not carry sanctions, Erry said the police can consider the failure to declare their wealth on time a crime.

"Our stance is clear anyway. Ignoring their obligations to submit wealth reports here is a violation of the anticorruption laws," he asserted.

Some 8,000 of 12,000 former legislative members across the country have submitted their wealth reports to the commission as of Oct. 6. The commission has yet to announce the number of new legislative members who have followed suit.

Erry confirmed that none of members of the United Indonesia Cabinet or their predecessors under former president Megawati Soekarnoputri had met the requirement as of Tuesday.

On Friday, Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered his 34 ministers to complete and submit their wealth reports within one week.

The commission sent the wealth forms to the State Secretariat on Oct. 19, one day before the inauguration of Susilo as the president.

In his first speech after assuming power, Susilo took corruption eradication a priority and said he himself would lead the movement.

"We have deployed our staff members to work 24 hours a day to help the ministers complete the forms if need be," Erry said,

However, none of the ministers have sought help from the commission, he said.

Asked whether the commission would report ignorant ministers to the police should they fail to submit their wealth reports on Friday, Erry said: "In accordance with the law they still have three weeks to go."

The requirement for state officials to submit wealth reports to the commission is aimed at maintaining transparency and monitoring possible irregularities.

The commission will examine and publish the wealth reports in a bid to get input from people who know of possible irregularities in the officials' wealth reports.

The KPK will publish the wealth reports with the officials' consent.

"We will announce publicly whoever refuses to have their wealth reports published," Erry said.