New regulation on corruption out end of April

JAKARTA (JP): The government will issue a new regulation to shift the burden of proof to deal with certain corruption and narcotics cases by the end of this month.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Baharuddin Lopa, after a meeting with Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, told journalists on Monday that his office is discussing the new regulation thoroughly.

"God willing, it will be finished by the end of April or early of May. However, we are still thinking about the regulation's form, whether it would be a law or a government regulation in lieu of law," Lopa said.

President Abdurrahman Wahid, in an effort to fight rampant corruption, called for the shift of the burden of proof system last week, which will require defendants to prove that they are not guilty.

Under the new procedure, the accused must prove that they acquired money or other assets legally.

Currently, it is the prosecutors who have to prove that the defendant is guilty.

"Most people wish that the regulation would be in the form of a government regulation in lieu of law so we can implement it as soon as possible.

"Issuing a law would take time as we have to go through the House of Representatives," Lopa said.

Separately, the Golkar Party faction chairman at the House of Representatives Syamsul Muarif said that it would be better for the government to revise the current Law No. 31/1999 on corruption or issue another law to administer the system.

"I do not think that the government regulation in lieu of law would be sufficient to deal with such cases, we need to have clearer standards for such a system," Syamsul said in his office.

Separately, former president Soeharto's lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon told The Jakarta Post that the government should conduct research before implementing the system as it could be abused as a political tool that might result in human rights violations.

"If we want to use the system, we have to conduct a thorough research first and set clear standards for cases that can be handled under such regulations as it is not for all corruption cases," Tampubolon said.

He said that several countries which apply the reversed burden of proof system limit it to bribery cases.

"Actually it is a good idea, but we should be careful as it can be used as a tool to politicize legal cases," Tampubolon further said.

"In my opinion in would be better if we concentrate more on revising Law No. 31/1999 on corruption by strengthening efforts to prove corruption cases; not by issuing a new regulation that we hardly understand," he remarked.

Indonesia is one of the countries in the world with the highest level of corruption cases. So far, efforts to combat corruption have been unfruitful due to the lack of political will, loopholes in existing laws and regulations and corrupt judicial officers. (dja)