KPKPN gets touch on legislators

KPKPN gets touch on legislators

JAKARTA: Despite legislators' resistance, the Public Servants'
Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) asserted on Thursday that the
commission was authorized to investigate legislators without a
permit from the President.

The same ruling also applies for public servants, said KPKPN
chairman Jusuf Syakir.

"The wealth probe is not a legal measure, so approval from the
President or public servants' superior is not necessary," Jusuf
told a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission II on
legal and domestic affairs.

According to Jusuf, KPKPN's authority is confined to producing
reports about the wealth of the public servants and legislators,
but legal prosecution remains in the hands of the police.

House commission member Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa from the Golkar
Party maintained that KPKPN needed presidential approval before
probing legislators' wealth in accordance with the law on the
composition of the People's Consultative Assembly and regional
legislatures. -- JP