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)