Public upbeat over graft suspect hunt

Public upbeat over graft suspect hunt

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The public has high hopes that the planned government team
assigned to hunt down graft suspects residing overseas will be
able to conclude its mission in a country where corruptors have
long managed to easily escape justice and enjoy their ill-gotten
wealth abroad, according to a top lawmaker and anticorruption
activist.

Deputy chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
A.M. Fatwa, however, warned that the public's optimism could turn
into outrage, if the team fails to perform its task.

"This step can be a test to assess the government's
seriousness in eradicating corruption," Fatwa said in a press
release issued on Friday.

"If there is a positive result, then (public) support for the
current government will strengthen. If not, I'm afraid the public
will become increasingly apathetic, and perceive similar actions
in the future as mere lip service," said the senior politician.

Hatta was responding to a plan by the Attorney General's
Office to set up a joint team to hunt down corruption suspects
who have fled overseas particularly to neighboring Singapore.
The eight-member team will also track down the personal assets of
the corruptors to help recover state losses.

Office spokesman R.J. Soehandojo said that the team, which
will include officials from the National Police, immigration
office and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, would start
work after the government concludes an extradition treaty with
Singapore.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to fly to
Singapore on Feb. 15 to discuss the long-running extradition
issue with Singapore Prime Minister Lie Hsien Loong.

Fatwa acknowledged that the success of the team's mission
would largely depend on whether the government could secure an
extradition treaty with Singapore.

Meanwhile, Lucky Djani, deputy chairman of Indonesian
Corruption Watch (ICW), said that aside from good bilateral ties
with foreign countries, the team's success would also depend on
good coordination between related offices.

"From what we've seen so far, lack of coordination has always
been the main problem of our government. If the team can get past
that hurdle then the road to success will open wide," Lucky told
The Jakarta Post.

"We will see this time whether or not the team can capture
those fugitives, since it is such a huge task and cannot be
accomplished in a few months but may take as long as several
years," he added.

Deputy Attorney General for intelligence Basrief Arief has
been chosen to head the special team, while National Police
deputy chief of detectives Insp. Gen. Dadang Garnida will be his
deputy.

Meanwhile, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said that
the team did not have a specific target on the number of graft
suspects to be brought back home to face trial, nor how many
assets could be recovered.

"We'll just do our best," Da'i said.

Da'i admitted that an extradition agreement, especially with
Singapore, would make the team's work easier, but even without
the agreement, the team would still be able to work by asking
help from a mutual legal assistance agreement (an agreement
between ASEAN countries) and Interpol.

"First we have to be able to locate all those fugitives by
asking help from those agencies, then we will be able to think of
our next move," Da'i said.