KPK wants amendment of anticorruption law
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said on Wednesday that existing anti-graft regulations were inadequate to enable full-fledged prosecution of corruption cases.
Speaking in a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission III on legal and domestic affairs, KPK chairman Taufiqurrachman Ruki demanded amendments to laws pertaining to the anti-corruption drive, including bank secrecy laws.
Ruki said the bank secrecy law was among the formidable stumbling blocks preventing swift prosecution of corruption cases.
"Law No. 7/1992 concerning banking stipulates that only the National Police, the Attorney General's Office and the Supreme Court have the right to examine suspects' bank accounts. Such a stipulation gives the Central Bank the authority to deny our access to the account," Ruki said.
He said the KPK in fact did not need authorization from the Central Bank to get access to bank accounts, as Law No. 30/2002 concerning anti-corruption states that such permission is not required.
However, a number of additional regulations were needed to boost the commission's work, he said.
Among the much-needed regulations is the witness protection law.
"The absence of such a law has dissuaded witness, or those who are knowledgeable about corruption practices, to reveal their information," he said.
Established in late 2003, the KPK is handling, among other high-profile cases, a corruption case involving Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh. The governor is expected to stand trial at the anti-corruption court in December.
The KPK also collects wealth reports from state officials, and regularly informs the public about these reports.
Data from the commission revealed that only 50 percent of over 41,000 public servants have submitted their wealth reports. For members of the House and local legislative councils, only 57 percent of over 18,000 members have declared their wealth to the commission.
The KPK's demand for the drawing up of new laws was met with a cool response.
"Regardless of how poor the regulations are, optimum performance can still be achieved if officials have the determination to implement them," Panda Nababan of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said.
Fellow legislator Gayus Lumbuun said the existing regulations were in fact already too much for the commission.
"The KPK has the authority to take over corruption investigations from the police or prosecutors, and this is quite significant. What matters now is whether the commission has the courage to start its probes," he said.