Stronger legal ground needed in anti-graft campaign

Stronger legal ground needed in anti-graft campaign

Ardimas Sasdi, The Jakarta Post

The alleged bribery scandal at the Supreme Court is not only embarrassing, but also disturbing. The case has strengthened the already strong public perception that no institution in the country is unaffected by the virus of corruption.

That corruption is rampant is already public knowledge. The people have cried foul against this cancerous, societal ill, but to prove graft, especially scandal at the judiciary like the one that allegedly took place at the Supreme Court, will not be easy.

The revelations in this case are a concrete challenge for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has vowed to rid the country of corruption as part of his milestone anti-graft drive. Move ahead and do not backtrack.

But steely determination is simply not enough in the fight against these white collar crimes, whose perpetrators are people that are knowledgeable of the laws, have power and money to bend the law or influence the outcome of an investigation if there are legal maneuvers against them.

The act of law enforcement should be done in concert with efforts to improve the welfare of judges and prosecutors and strengthen the legal framework. Laws on conflict of interest and other such laws are necessary.

Conflict of interest law is needed for professionals holding public office to ensure that professional and personal interests do not collide. Additionally, they are needed for people within the judicial system as a reference to determine whether laws have been infringed upon or not.

The scandal at the Supreme Court, for example, would not have happened if Chief Justice Bagir Manan -- as reported in the media -- did not have meetings with Harini Wiyoso, a high court judge- turned-lawyer for a defendant whose case is being heard by a panel chaired by Bagir. If he had treated the meeting in a business-like fashion of a superior and a departing subordinate none of this would have come out.

Harini reportedly informed Bagir of her retirement as a Yogyakarta High Court judge and her job as the lawyer for businessman Probosutedjo during a meeting in September 2005 at the latter's office in Jakarta.

The mixing of business matters with personal affairs by some people, which is the root of conflict of interest -- perceived or real -- is a worrying trend because many people in power hold dual positions from the Vice President to several mayors. These people are prone to use their powers -- directly or indirectly -- to influence public policies, win contracts and obtain loans.

The Rp 12 trillion (US$1.28 billion) lending scandal at Bank Mandiri, which has landed many directors in prison, is one example where a conflict of interest might have occurred. The bank reportedly approved a loan request of Rp 160 billion -- enough money to feed 1,000 poor families for a full year -- by just one borrower, and all decided in just one day. Simple math tells us that the bankers -- under pressure or not -- did not verify the collateral and conduct a feasibility study of the projects in line with the principle of prudential banking practices.

To understand the context the lending saga should be viewed in a perspective of a pattern of corruption, where the causes and motives for corruption in the business world are related to corruption in our daily culture. In this vicious cycle, there are bank executives who expect to be offered "money" and the cunning borrowers who want the bankers to approve their loan proposals through any means, including the use of their power and giving bribes.

Listed among over 20 companies involved in the Bank Mandiri scandal are PT Bakrie Telecom (owned by senior economics minister Aburizal Bakrie) and PT Semen Bosowa Maros (owned by Erwin Aksa, a nephew of Vice President Jusuf Kalla), a firm owned by Media tycoon and Golkar Party executive Surya Paloh and a company owned by Sutrisno Bachir, the National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman.

The conflict-of-interest law is needed because the code of ethics is just a form of moral commitment. Thus they cannot be used as a legal basis in a court of law.

The national conflict-of-interest law should then be followed by the promulgation of similar sub-laws, which will be used by public agencies and institutions at the central and local government levels.

The need for conflict-of-interest law is also necessitated by the fact that many of us cannot draw a strict line between professional matters and personal interests. The argument is that we do not want to hurt the feeling of others and so we let matters go unresolved, a unique "oriental way" of solving problems. Cunning people prefer this way as they gain something from it.

There is a popular saying in West Sumatra, which perfectly reflects this unique way. "Di waang samo so cinduo jo salemo (for you there is no different between Ingus (nasal mucus) and cendol (small, doughy rice-flour droplets usually used in drinks).

If the conflict-of-interest law is needed as a preventive measure and a yardstick, a shield law is required by anti-graft institutions like KPK and Tipikor, the prosecutors and the judges to protect the whistle blowers, another key instrument in revealing corruption cases.

People like intrepid auditor Khairiansyah Salman of the Supreme Audit Body (BPK), who was instrumental in uncovering a mammoth corruption scandal at the National Elections Commission, and Probosutedjo, are needed although both figures might not necessarily be as clean as angels.

Both laws are crucial to the success of the ongoing fight against graft, especially if Indonesia cannot adopt a principle that requires alleged corruptors to prove that they have obtained their wealth through legitimate means, as Malaysia has done.

The step taken by Zhu Rongji, who became Chinese prime minister in 1998 and elevated corruption as the number one problem in China in his anti-graft drive, is another way. Zhu demanded 100 coffins, 99 for the corrupt in high places and one for himself.

The choice is with Susilo, who said at the beginning of his five-year term last year that he was ashamed of rampant corruption in Indonesia -- a supposedly devout, religious society.

The author is a staff writer of The Jakarta Post.