Racalcitrant officials to face tough punishment

Racalcitrant officials to face tough punishment

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The State Officials' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN), regarded
by many to be a toothless tiger, is seeking tougher punishment
for those who fail to disclose, or lie about, the source of their
wealth.

The commission established in 1999 is drafting an amendment of
Law No. 8/1999 that will allow it to file a criminal case against
recalcitrant officials.

Commission chairman Jusuf Syakir said after meeting with
President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Monday that any state
official who refuses to cooperate with, or in any way obstructs,
KPKPN officials or lies about their wealth could be jailed for
between one and 12 years and possibly face fines ranging from Rp
100 million to Rp 1 billion.

The punishment that the current law mandates is considered too
lenient and vague. None of the thousands of officials who have
ignored KPKPN's order to report their wealth have been held
accountable or reprimanded in any way.

"The President agreed that the administrative punishment was
just too lenient and she supported criminal penalties for the
perpetrators," Jusuf told journalists.

The commission has earned very little trust from the public
because it has little to no power to deal with powerful state
officials who have allegedly accumulated ill-gotten fortunes
which were inevitably registered as "grants".

Compliance also has been extremely low. Data released by the
commission shows that only some 5,000 of the 30,000 registry
forms provided to state officials had been completed and
returned.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, Minister of
Religious Affairs Said Agiel Munawar and State Minister of the
Acceleration of Development in Eastern Indonesia Manuel Kaisiepo
are among those who have not yet returned the forms that KPKPN
gave them three months ago, Jusuf said.

Of the 26 governors across the country, 15 have yet to file a
report on their wealth with the commission, despite also having
the forms for the past three months.

"The President was shocked when she heard my report. She said
that she had distributed the forms in the first cabinet meeting
in August," Jusuf said.

According to the law, the forms should be completed and
received by the commission a month after they reach the official.

Most of the 85 members of the Jakarta Legislative Council have
seemingly ignored the wealth registry forms.

The agency will propose that officials who refuse to be
audited are subject to between one year and six years in jail
with a fine from Rp 100 million (US$10,000) to Rp 500 million.

"We also propose that those who are found to have provided
false statements on the their wealth are liable to between two
years and 12 years imprisonment with a fine from Rp 200 million
to Rp 1 billion," he said.