Overhaul needed
If there is one thing that has almost managed to divert the attention of Indonesians amid the strains and expectations in the wake of Monday's general election, it is the corruption charges which the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) leveled against Attorney General Andi Muhammad Ghalib. Or, to be more precise, it is the official reaction from the government to the accusations.
The ICW, an independent citizens corruption watchdog set up shortly after the fall of president Soeharto in May, dropped its bombshell on Thursday last week -- Ghalib's 53rd birthday, incidentally -- when it made public its findings of the transfer of Rp 450 million (US$56,250), by two prominent businessmen, Prajogo Pangestu and The Nin King, to a private bank account of Ghalib.
The news caused an immediate furor among the public, already suspicious about what it perceives as Ghalib's foot-dragging in investigating reports of corruption by Soeharto, his family and close associates during the three decades he was in power. Compounding the suspicion was the fact that both businessmen were not long ago summoned for questioning by the Attorney General's Office over suspected corruption. Lawyer Denny Kalimang found it necessary to explain to the media that the money was donated by his two clients to support the Indonesian Wrestling Association, which Ghalib chairs.
Making matters worse for Ghalib, the ICW came up with more of what it regarded as questionable bank transfers to the accounts of Ghalib and his wife, Andi Murniati, in all amounting to a total of Rp 1.8 billion. To top this, ICW coordinator Teten Masduki expressed surprise at the huge amount of Ghalib's personal savings -- Rp 13 billion as of February -- which he considered disproportionate to the attorney general's salary of Rp 7.5 million a month. More suspect dealings were reported by other media publications, including the news magazine Tempo, which quoted senior officials at Ghalib's office as saying that the attorney general kept other "official funds", such as money for the construction of a mosque on the office's grounds, in his private bank account.
Since Ghalib is an army general, the ICW submitted a report of the dealings to the military police, but no action appears to have been taken so far. The organization planned to meet with President B.J. Habibie to recommend that the President dismiss Ghalib from his post to ensure an investigation into his case can be started without any conflicts of interest. In the meantime Ghalib, who has denied any wrongdoing, has said he will sue the ICW for defamation. How all this will end remains to be seen.
One of the disheartening things to note about corruption cases in this country is that, despite the official pledges of bureaucratic reform, the law enforcement machinery is usually slow to act on public complaints of corruption in the bureaucracy. Instead, it is usually the complainant who is summoned for questioning, although their cases seldom end up in court. In this particular case, the ICW may perhaps congratulate itself for so far keeping itself out of trouble. Bank Indonesia, the central bank, has said it intends to look into the state of affairs at Ghalib's bank for breaching of banking confidentiality.
One may remember the earlier case of the scanned telephone conversation purportedly between Ghalib and Habibie regarding the investigation of Soeharto for suspected corruption, collusion and nepotism during his rule. Although the conversation clearly indicated a lack of sincerity to pursue the case as mandated by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the law enforcement apparatus never reacted to public calls to question both, or either. Instead, it was quick to summon for questioning reporters who leaked the story to find out how and where the leak occurred.
With the presence of a sense of justice and security being a major prerequisite for establishing order and stability in the community, clearly a total renewal of our law enforcement and judiciary systems is one of the first things the new government must accomplish before it can even think of rebuilding the nation from the wreckage left behind by the New Order regime.