KPU gets tough over fake diploma

KPU gets tough over fake diploma

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Numerous newly elected councillors across Indonesia could lose
their seats after the General Elections Commission (KPU) ordered
local commissions to take swift action against councillors who
used false school diplomas.

According to data from the Election Supervisory Committee
(Panwaslu), there were at least 405 councillors implicated in
false diploma cases across Indonesia. They come mostly from East
Java, where 53 cases have arisen, followed by North Sumatra with
33 and Central Java with 21.

The KPU issued a circular on Friday ordering local elections
commissions (KPUDs) to take swift measures to deal with new
council members accused of forging their school diplomas.

The circular said that should a local district court decline
to hear a diploma forgery case involving a councillor, the KPUDs
would need only a recommendation from the local education office
to make a decision on the status of the legislator in question.

"If the local education office decides that the diploma is
fake, the KPUDs can immediately remove name of the candidate from
the list of elected legislators," KPU chairman Nazaruddin
Syamsuddin said.

Several district courts have reportedly dismissed diploma
forgery cases against councillors, saying the charges had
expired. According to the Election Law, the process of
prosecuting false diploma cases must not exceed 30 days before
reaching the court.

Nazaruddin said a final decision on the authenticity of
diplomas could also be obtained from local religious affairs
offices, which oversee religious schools.

The circular also says that if legislators are found to have
used false diplomas after they have already been sworn in, their
respective political parties must replace them.

In an earlier circular issued in May, the KPU ruled that only
a final guilty verdict handed down by the Supreme Court on
diploma forgery cases could prevent legislators from taking
office.

The KPU's latest decision was issued only after a large number
of the over 12,000 newly elected legislators nationwide had been
installed in their new positions.

There is no guarantee local elections commissions will abide
by this new circular because the ruling carries no clear
penalties for violators.

The public has also expressed concern about the effectiveness
of the circular, saying KPUDs could easily be bribed by
legislators eager to hold onto their seats.

Panwaslu hailed the KPU's "belated" decision, saying the
circular was in line to its demands.

However, it cautioned that the circular would not be
implemented as expected by the KPU.

"KPUD members could have different interpretations of the
circular, and we are worried that it will fail to stop fraudulent
legislators from taking their seats," Panwaslu member Topo
Santoso said in Jakarta.

He said local Panwaslu offices throughout the country would
start their own probes to find evidence against "problematic"
councillors in order to prosecute them.

Topo also said the KPU was to blame for the rampant use of
fake diplomas. He said the commission should have carried out
more thorough examinations of the required paperwork filed by
legislative candidates in the early stages of registration.