Police awaiting permit in AG case

P.C. Naommy, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The police have blamed the unresponsive state bureaucracy for their inability to question Attorney General M.A. Rachman over allegations of his involvement in corruption.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Basyir Barmawi said on Monday that the police had already followed the set administrative procedures by submitting a request for presidential permission to summon Rachman for questioning.

"We sent our request to President Megawati so long ago that I have forgotten exactly when it was. Even National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar also sent a request. Given that permission has not yet been given, it is obvious that the problem is not on our side," said Basyir.

Any investigation of senior state officeholders, such as Cabinet ministers, House of Representatives' members, or, as in this case, the Attorney General, requires the written permission of the president.

He said that it would be impossible for the police to violate administrative rules. "We are the upholders of the law. What would happen if we were to violate it?" he asked.

The Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) previously complained that the police were using the absence of presidential permission to summon Rachman as justification for not investigating the allegations of corruption that had been laid against him.

"It's not true to say that we are less than committed to investigating corruption cases. We are committed and consistent in line with democracy and reform in this country," said Basyir.

He said there was no need to review the progress of the investigation as that would only need to be done if the investigators came up against problems in questioning witnesses.

"Such problems have not arisen, and the investigators have already questioned a number of witnesses. The only problem is that permission has yet to be given by the President," added Basyir.

The KPKPN reported Rachman to the police in December 2002 after it found discrepancies between Rachman's wealth declaration and its inquiries on the ground.

The attorney general failed to declare a luxurious house worth around Rp 5 billion located at Jl. Penida 10 in the Graha Cinere housing complex in Limo district, Depok, West Java.

The commission also found that Rachman failed to clarify the source of bank deposits in his name totaling Rp 800 million.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who has the authority to appoint or remove the attorney general, refused to dismiss Rachman, saying that firing him would not resolve the problem and that the case was politically motivated.