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.