Legislators warn of politicking over antigraft bill

Legislators warn of politicking over antigraft bill

JAKARTA (JP): Legislators warned on Tuesday against possible
politicking by the remaining supporters of the corrupt New Order
regime in deliberations on the revised anticorruption bill that
was submitted to the House of Representatives on the previous
day.

Patrialis Akbar, a legislator of the National Mandate Party
(PAN), called for political support for an objective deliberation
of the bill, which requires a reversal of the burden of proof in
an endeavor to eradicate the rampant practice of corruption.

"The bill should win support from a majority of the people and
of factions in the House if the nation is committed to fight
against corruption," he said.

Patrialis said the remaining supporters of the New Order
regime still had the power to influence factions to postpone
their deliberations on the bill.

However, he said that the Golkar Party with its new paradigm,
was expected to support the bill because it was submitted, not to
target its political figures, but to fight against the alarming
and growing culture of corruption.

Amien Aryoso, a legislator of the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), said the bill would likely win a
cool response from the remaining supporters of the New Order
regime.

"Of course, there will likely be politicking during the
deliberations on the law but I'm sure all factions in the House
are committed to implementing the 1998 MPR (People's Consultative
Assembly) decree on good and non-corrupt governance.

"Any politicking in the bill's deliberation will put the
House's legitimacy at stake in the eyes of the people," he said,
citing that the eradication of corruption is one of the main
reform agenda items.

The government had earlier planned to issue an antigraft
regulation in lieu of a law to stipulate the reversal of the
burden of proof. This was in view of the urgency involved, as the
revision would take much longer. The idea, however, was opposed
by many legislators.

The delay has apparently given time for those accused of
corruption during the New Order era to free themselves from the
prosecutions that would occur if the burden of proof were
reversed.

Amien, also chairman of House Commission II on home and legal
affairs, said his commission had been assigned to deliberate the
bill and he would coordinate well with all factions so that the
bill could become law this year.

He said the bill, prepared in order to revise the 1999
Anticorruption Law, allows the National Police and the Attorney
General's Office to prosecute the accused in court in the absence
of legal evidence.

"Under the reversed investigative system, defendants must be
able to prove that they are not guilty. They must be able to
clarify their assets and their income. Defendants unable to prove
they are not guilty would be sent to jail," he said.

He said the existing law had been found ineffective in the
fight against corruption because law enforcers lacked strong
enough evidence to prosecute the accused.

"The law has many loopholes for the accused to collude with
law enforcers to release them from charges," he said.

Amien said his commission would also ask the government to
form an anticorruption commission to carry out ad hoc trials that
would be subordinate to the court.

"The commission's members must be independent and they could
be recruited from the Attorney General's Office, the Supreme
Court, and from among university law experts," he said. (rms)