MP: No Plans Yet to Revise Corruption Eradication Law
Rudianto Lallo, a member of the House of Representatives’ Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, said there were currently no plans in parliament to revise Law No. 20 of 2001, the second amendment to Law No. 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption (the Corruption Eradication Law, or UU Tipikor).
The NasDem Party politician said that through to the end of this year, the commission remained focused on drafting the Asset Forfeiture Bill.
“Not yet; it is still being debated. We cannot speak on behalf of the commission, as these are personal views,” Lallo said when contacted on Tuesday (27 October).
Lallo then criticised National Economic Council (DEN) Chairman Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and Coordinating Minister for Legal Affairs, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra, who have proposed and discussed studies on redefining categories of corruption by amending the Corruption Eradication Law.
Lallo said the government was free to pursue a revision if it believed the law was too old and no longer relevant. However, he cautioned that corruption-related provisions were already comprehensively covered by several laws.
“If the government considers a revision necessary, then, yes, we leave that to them,” Lallo said.
He said several laws contain provisions on corruption, including the Criminal Code, the Law on the Crime of Money Laundering, and the Asset Forfeiture Bill, which is being drafted and is targeted for completion in December this year.
In Lallo’s view, these legal frameworks already provide comprehensive coverage. He said the implementation of their provisions depended greatly on the integrity of law-enforcement officials.
“That is how I read it; that is my own view. No matter how good the substance of the rules is, it is difficult if enforcement is weak,” he added.
Yusril had previously called for the Corruption Eradication Law to be revised alongside amendments to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. He also stressed the importance of aligning the law with the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which Indonesia ratified through Law No. 7 of 2006.
“And the Asset Forfeiture Bill is also being discussed now. So, inevitably, the current Corruption Eradication Law must also be brought into alignment,” Yusril said on Monday (26 October).