Saldi seeks judicial retribution

Saldi seeks judicial retribution

Syofiardi Bachyul JB, Padang

Anticorruption activist and Andalas University lecturer Saldi
Isra expects to see corruptors made to pay for the losses they
have caused others.

The coordinator of the Care for West Sumatra Forum (FPSB) --
which was instrumental in the prosecution of a high-profile
corruption case involving the West Sumatra Legislative Council --
maintains that a guilty verdict alone would not eradicate
corruption, particularly within the government.

Saldi has been committed to fighting corruption since 1999,
surviving death threats and defying defamation attempts.

He said Regional Autonomy Law No. 22/1999 provided opportunity
for corruption, as it stipulated that political affairs are the
responsibility of councillors while budget decisions are the
governor's.

"Such authorities can be easily traded, thus collusion is
imminent."

Saldi and the Forum have been fighting restlessly for justice
against the councillors and West Sumatra governor for their gross
misuse of the provincial budget.

In the beginning, he recalled, students, non-governmental
activists and academics pledged to supervise the performance of
the councillors, who were elected in 1999 in that so-called
democratic election -- the first to be held after more than three
decades of Soeharto's authoritarian government. These concerned
individuals formed a group called Kisi Anak Nagari.

"We demanded that when the councillors elected a 'new face' to
the West Sumatra governorship for the 2000-2005 term, that they
accelerate reform in the province," said Saldi.

The "new face" was to be a reform-minded person with adequate
leadership capability who would not be associated with the past
New Order government.

Their hope was dashed when Zainal Bakar was elected; Zainal
was a former deputy governor.

"Nobody responded to our objection, so we realized there was
no significant distinction between the councillors elected during
the reform era and those during the New Order. We believed
someone had to monitor their work," said Saldi.

Of the three West Sumatra Council committees, the group
decided to supervise the budget committee, as they believed it
was open to abuse -- the other two are the legislative and the
supervisory committees.

In 2001, Saldi and 20 other individuals requested legal
standing to file a complaint against the council with the Padang
District Court, but the appeal was rejected -- the court had
ruled the matter was beyond their jurisdiction.

That same year, he joined forces with the Padang branch of the
Legal Aid Institute (LBH) to file a class action against the
councillors for each receiving Rp 200 million in "extra
allowance". The court again rejected their suit.

After these failures, Saldi, along with LBH Padang activists,
the West Sumatra anti-corruption board (BAKO), the Indonesian
Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and several academics and their
students, established the FPSB in early 2002. Its first
coordinator was historian Dr. Mestika Zed.

The Forum focused on investigating a suspected misuse of the
2002 provincial budget. A joint investigation conducted with
academics of Andalas University and Padang State University
uncovered an illegal duplication of the budget and extraneous
spending.

Before the council and the governor endorsed the budget, the
Forum issued a protest and students rallied at City Hall asking
for a postponement, but to no avail. Saldi and the group went to
see Zainal to ask him not to approve the budget, but the governor
was deaf to their calls.

In August 2002, the Forum filed a criminal suit at the West
Sumatra Prosecutor's Office, accusing the 55 councillors of
corruption. Two months later, they filed another suit against the
West Sumatra governor.

The office began examining the indictment only in November
2002, after the Forum had appealed to the National Ombudsman
Commission to complain about the prosecutors' slow work.

Saldi and four Forum members were named witnesses in the
corruption case.

The case was eventually taken to court, and in May 2004, the
Padang District Court found 43 West Sumatra councillors guilty of
swindling Rp 6.4 billion from the 2002 provincial budget, an
unprecedented verdict and one that rendered the council virtually
nonexistent.

However, the councillors -- most of whom were reelected in the
April 5 legislative election -- remain free pending their
appeals. Prosecutors are still waiting presidential approval
to investigate the governor.

Saldi said the court's conviction of the councillors was not
supplemented by any other penalties such as immediate prison
sentences, and had therefore not made a significant breakthrough
in the judicial fight against corruption.

"We welcome and appreciate the verdict from the Padang
District Court, but in my opinion, the judges are still taking
the middle road by merely delivering a verdict of guilty and not
make them conscious of their wrongdoings.

"By imposing a (stiff) penalty, however, the judges could
invoke fear among others and deter people from corruption," he
said.

Last month, the West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office acknowledged
the Forum's contribution to civil society through an award.

Looking back over the past four years, Saldi was amazed that
the Forum's efforts against corruption at the council had borne
fruit.

It is also just the tip of the iceberg, and this year, Saldi
published Kampanye dengan Uang Haram, (Campaigning with illegal
money), as the country moves forth in embracing a direct
electoral system.

Not one to rest on his laurels, the father of two is now
active as a guest speaker on anticorruption at several
organizations in Sumatra and Java.

"They asked me to share the FPSB's experience in fighting
corruption at the West Sumatra Council. It seems that our work
has inspired many," he said.

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BioBrief

Saldi Isra was born in 1969 in Paninggahan, Solok, West
Sumatra, and graduated summa cum laude in 1995 from the Law
School at state-run Andalas University, Padang. He received his
Master of Public Administration in 2001 from the University of
Malaya, Malaysia, and is a lecturer of the postgraduate law
program at his alma mater.

In 2002, he was named "Favorite Lecturer" of Andalas
University and helped establish the Care for West Sumatra Forum
(FPSB).

Saldi is a recipient of the 2003 SCTV Award in recognition of
his popularity and contributions as a lecturer at Andalas, and
was elected FPSB coordinator the same year upon the strengths of
his law background.

He is also a prolific writer and has written about 150
articles for local and national newspapers.