Law enforcers join hands to combat graft

Law enforcers join hands to combat graft

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Underlining the importance of coordination in dealing with
corruption cases, the country's law enforcement institutions
agreed on Wednesday to cut through the bureaucratic procedures
that have so far hampered investigations.

The Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political and
Security Affairs and its subordinate ministries, the National
Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) and the Supreme Court
signed a joint agreement to mark their commitment to combating
graft during a meeting called the Law Summit II.

With the support of non-governmental organization the
Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia, the law enforcers
addressed the bureaucratic obstacles to investigating corruption
cases and recovering swindled state funds.

"The obstacles that must be wiped out include the time-
consuming procedure to obtain approval from the president or the
immediate superior to question a witness or a suspect," said
acting deputy attorney general Bachtiar Fachry Nasution.

"We are also looking at the possibility of opening or freezing
the bank account(s) of a witness before naming him or her a
suspect, and immediately suspending him or her from their post
during the investigation," he said during a media conference
after the signing of the agreement, called the Joint Agreement on
the Action Plan on Law and Judicial Reform 2002-2004.

In their joint action plan, the officials acknowledged that
medical excuses from doctors had become an effective tool for
those seeking to avoid investigation. The meeting recommended the
revision of regulations and laws on this procedure.

The event on Wednesday was a continuance of the Law Summit I
held last January, which highlighted the dire need to restore the
trust of the people and the international community in
Indonesia's justice system.

The joint agreement also embraces the government-sanctioned
Commission on National Law (KHN) and the structure of the
Commission on the Eradication of Corruption.

Besides measures for dealing with corruption, the agreement
also establishes blueprints for law reform, judiciary reform and
the reform of the prosecutors' office and the police.

Asked how law enforcement institutions could ensure the public
of their integrity, given the numerous corruption cases involving
government officials, Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan
said the already-established Communication Forum of Law Enforcers
would act as a supervisory body for the implementation of the
action plans.

"The people should not become a priori just because judges
cannot prove corruption allegations against their colleagues,"
Bagir said, in apparent reference to case involving three Jakarta
Commercial Court judges -- Hasan Basri, Ch. Kristi Purnamiwulan
and Cahyono -- who reportedly received bribes prior to issuing a
ruling declaring Manulife Indonesia, a local unit of Canadian
giant Manulife Financial, bankrupt last August.