Many legislators have yet to submit wealth report
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After several delays, the Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) announced on Wednesday the names of legislators who had not submitted a list of their assets.
Topping the list were legislators from President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), with almost half of the total 168 defiant lawmakers coming from the ruling party. PDI Perjuangan has 153 members in the House of Representatives (DPR).
PDI Perjuangan legislators who did not submit their wealth reports included veteran politician Abdul Madjid, party deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung, Panda Nababan and Firman Jaya Daeli of House Commission II, Benny Pasaribu of House Commission VIII and party deputy treasurer Agnita Singedekane Irsal.
Legislators Zulfan Lindan, Julius Usman and Didi Supriyanto -- three PDI Perjuangan legislators who were at the forefront in criticizing former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid for his alleged corruption -- were also on the KPKPN list of noncompliant legislators.
Guruh Irianto Soekarno Putra, a brother of President Megawati, also did not submit his wealth inventory.
Golkar Party legislators came second, with 36 of its 120 legislators failing to declare their wealth to KPKPN by Wednesday. They included businessman Enggartiasto Lukito, Gumiwang Kartasasmita, who is the son of former minister of energy and mineral resources Ginanjar Kartasasmita, chairman of House Commission I Ibrahim Ambong and Ferry Mursydan Baldan.
Former president Soeharto's half-brother Probo Sutedjo and Gus Dur's nephew Syaifullah Yusuf as well as Ali Masykur Musa of the National Awakening Party (PKB) were among the defiant legislators.
Anticorruption, collusion, and nepotism champion Alvin Lie of the Reform Faction, controversial legislators Abdul Qadir Djaelani and Hartono Mardjono, and Crescent Star Party (PBB) chairman MS Kaban also failed to beat the deadline on Wednesday.
KPKPN deputy chairman for the legislators' wealth Abdullah Hehamahua emphasized on Wednesday that the legislators must declare their assets to KPKPN within two weeks or "face stern sanctions".
"We set a two-week deadline starting today (Wednesday) for these legislators to hand over their asset report. Should they miss the deadline, we will impose stern sanctions against them," Hehamahua said from his office in Central Jakarta.
He did not specifically disclose what kind of sanctions the commission would impose on noncooperative legislators, saying: "Just wait and see. I can't reveal that to you right now."
Hehamahua also said on Wednesday that some 110 members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) had failed to declare their wealth and their names were expected to be announced to the public on Friday.
KPKPN was set up by Gus Dur in 1999 in a bid to curb rampant corruption, collusion and nepotism in governmental institutions.
Hehamahua earlier said that KPKPN had no power to force defiant legislators to declare their assets as Law No. 28/1999 on clean governance did not provide KPKPN with the authority to impose stern sanctions on legislators who refused to report their assets.
Nevertheless, he once revealed that KPKPN could file a complaint with police over matters that "could be categorized as crimes".
KPKPN also said earlier that it believed that five of the 126 legislators from the House and MPR, whose wealth declarations had been checked by the commission, were involved in corruption, collusion and nepotism practices.