PDI-P urges Mega to take action against AG Rachman

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Throwing weight behind public demand, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) urged President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Tuesday to take stern measures against Attorney General M.A. Rachman over corruption allegations.

The country's largest party indicated that all evidence revealed that Rachman was no longer fit to keep the position he has held since July last year.

"Data from the Public Servant's Wealth Audit Agency (KPKPN) serves as strong evidence for the President to do something against Rachman," the party's deputy chairman Roy B.B. Janis said after the weekly party meeting on Tuesday.

Megawati also chairs the party.

Roy underlined that stiff action against Rachman would set a good precedent for the country's campaign against rampant corruption practices in the government.

"Whatever the legal and administrative sanctions imposed on Rachman, tough measures have to be imposed on all government officials who are involved in corruption," Roy remarked.

He underlined that due to her power, Megawati had to take immediate actions against Rachman as there was a growing public distrust in the attorney general.

"But we should not focus only on Rachman, as there are many government officials who may have been implicated in corruption cases," he stressed.

PDI Perjuangan executives also urged Megawati to exercise her power as Rachman could become a liability for her administration.

"It is very important for us to have an attorney general who is free from any corruption, especially in the current reform era," the party's deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung said.

PDI Perjuangan's stance on Rachman is incongruent with its position on House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung. The party has never officially demanded Akbar's resignation despite the fact that he has been convicted in a corruption case and sentenced to three years in prison by the Central Jakarta District Court.

Megawati skipped the regular party meeting on Tuesday amid the furor over Rachman's case, and went to her villa in Gunung Geulis, West Java, where she planted flowers.

Rachman came under the spotlight after KPKPN revealed his ownership of a Rp 5 billion (US$561,700) luxury house in Graha Cinere housing complex, West Java.

He was also asked to clarify bank accounts opened between 1999 to 2001, with deposits amounting to Rp 545.6 million and US$29,600.

On Tuesday, KPKPN announced the possibility of questioning at least another five people, including Rachman's son and daughter to clarify the house' ownership and the bank accounts.

The questioning of Rachman's daughter, Chairunissa, has been scheduled for Wednesday.

Head of KPKPN investigators for the case, Rudjuan Dartono, said on Tuesday that Untung Udji Santoso, the director for investigations at the Attorney General's Office special crimes department, had been summoned for questioning on Thursday.

A source told The Jakarta Post that Megawati had assigned legislator Panda Nababan to offer Rachman two choices, resign or be humiliated for corruption allegations and concealing his wealth.

The options were given earlier last month before KPKPN disclosed the data to the press, and back then Rachman insisted he was ready to resign, the source said.

But when Megawati discussed the case with Rachman directly and asked Minister of Finance Boediono to open the bank accounts, Rachman refused to step down, citing the innumerable corruption cases he was handling.

However, despite mounting pressure for Rachman to relinquish his post, the source said none of Megawati's close aides could predict what would be her final decision regarding Rachman.

"The proof is there, but whether she will do something against Rachman is a different question," the source said.

Constitutional law expert Muchsan of Yogyakarta-based Indonesian Islamic University supported the demand for Rachman's dismissal.

He said that Megawati had a strong legal basis to suspend or fire Rachman as Law No. 8/1974 on state employees and Article 364 and 368 of the Criminal Code provided support for such a decision.

"The regulations stipulate a public servant implicated, not necessarily convicted, in a crime carrying a maximum sentence of five years in jail deserved a six-month suspension," Muchsan told journalists.

He said that although the post of attorney general was not categorized as a civil servant, Rachman was subject to the laws because as a career prosecutor, he was in fact a civil servant.