Past graft cases not priority: SBY

Past graft cases not priority: SBY

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday that the
government was focusing its antigraft efforts on the prevention
of corruption in the future rather than pursuing graft cases that
took place in the past.

"I am concentrating more on preventative measures for the
future. If we only look to the past, it means delving into things
that are far from certain. We would be better off preventing mega
corruption cases from recurring in the future," he told governors
at a meeting of the Indonesian Provincial Administrations
Association (APPSI) in Jakarta.

Susilo asked the governors to support his soon-to-be-issued
national action plan to combat corruption, as well as a
recently issued presidential instruction designed to accelerate
the antigraft effort.

Citing his recent meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and parliamentarians, Susilo said they had
stressed the need not to focus on the past as to do so would
prove to be extremely complex.

"But Turkey is successful, and is firm against corruption," he
added.

The President also said that the antigraft movement should not
become tainted with "political motives".

He said that differences in political thinking between the
present government and past governments should not be used as an
excuse to victimize past officeholders.

Asked to elaborate, presidential spokesman Andi Mallarengeng
said the government was determined to prevent corruption in the
future through the creation of a deterrent effect.

"The graft cases currently being handled by the authorities,
such as those involving Nurdin Halid and Adrian Waworuntu, will
proceed. But a case like that of Pak Harto will not be pursued as
it has already been taken to court," he said.

Andi was referring to former president Soeharto, who briefly
stood trial for graft in the South Jakarta District Court. The
case came to an abrupt halt, however, after the court in a
controversial ruling found Soeharto unfit to stand trial for
health reasons.

Andi said the government would leave any decision whether or
not to pursue a past corruption case up to the Attorney General's
Office.

However, he said the government would not hesitate to
prosecute serving government officials suspected of stealing
state funds.

On Thursday, the President approved a request by prosecutors
request to question Blitar, East Java, Regent Imam Muhadi as a
suspect in a corruption case. He also gave the police the go-
ahead to summon Temanggung, Central Java, Regent Totok Ary
Prabowo as a witness in a similar case.

Since coming to power in October last year, the President has
given his consent for the questioning of 37 state officeholders
and legislators on suspicions of graft.

Susilo said that a number of governors had asked him not to
readily issue permits for the police and prosecutors to question
local administration chief executives as they feared this would
irreparably tarnish their images, even if the charges were
eventually thrown out in court.

"I listen to their calls. But I will continue to give my
written consent. I have explicitly told the police and
prosecutors that they must only question suspects if there are
strong indications of corruption," he added.

The President urged law enforcers to seriously consider the
consequences before laying graft charges.

"Should some apparent irregularities have occurred in the use
of funds due to erroneous interpretations of policies or
regulations, do not immediately conclude it is corruption without
first conducting a thorough examination," Susilo said.