SBY bemoans 'dual-function politicians'
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Busan, South Korea
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will soon issue a presidential instruction regulating government officials' roles in dealing with projects funded or initiated by the state.
"There should be clear rules of the game for these kinds of officials in order to create good governance and prevent corruption," he said on Thursday aboard the presidential aircraft heading to South Korea where he will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting.
Susilo dubbed such government officials -- who misused their authority to enrich their family or business groups by securing government projects -- as "dwi-fungsi (dual-function) politicians".
"Dual-function politicians are government officials who are running their businesses at the expense of the state. Not necessarily by being directly involved in these (businesses) but through their family or groups," he said.
Susilo said the instruction would arrange the relations between government officials and their families or business groups when dealing with projects funded by the state or regional budgets, or projects initiated by the government.
The instruction also regulates the need for business entities owned by officials' families or business groups to make a disclosure of their relation to officials during a tender process for a government project.
Under the planned instruction, government officials are not allowed to provide or leak information to their families or business interests regarding a tender process, which could cause unfair competition in the tender.
Information leaked by officials that could lead to insider trading in capital markets will also be prohibited.
Susilo said he would use the instruction to try to prevent the country's economy from being controlled by only a small group of businessmen, which could create economic oligarchies.
"I know that some cases of nepotism are hard to prove. But everyone should bear in mind that there is no such thing as a perfect crime. There is always ways to prove that they are guilty," Susilo said.
The President's Cabinet includes several prominent businessmen -- Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie, Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Fahmi Idris, State Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Surya Dharma Ali, State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto and Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban.
Susilo urged people not to jump to the conclusion that certain government officials were involved in corruption without sufficient evidence. If they did they risked being charged under the law for defamation, he said.
"I am currently investigating certain officials who it is indicated have misused their authority for the interests of their families or groups of businesses. (However) I must have strong evidence before I can take necessary action against them," he said.