Susilo needs new way to fight graft

Susilo needs new way to fight graft

M. Taufiqurrahman and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono could
make a breakthrough in its fight against corruption by shifting
the burden of a proof that has been mandated by the antigraft
law, a legal expert and activists said.

Legal expert Frans Hendra Winarta said the principle did not
work because the administration of previous presidents lacked the
determination to enact it.

"The principle has been mandated by the anticorruption law and
the time is high for the new government to make it work. The new
administration could apply it in cases that have raised public
concern," Frans told The Jakarta Post.

According to the principle, suspected corruptors could be
detained based on preliminary evidence, while the investigation
into their suspected crime is underway.

However, Frans warned that the application of such a principle
required great political will from the president himself.

"Some of those who are implicated in big-time corruption cases
could have been individuals that contributed to Susilo's rise to
power. Whether he (Susilo) has the courage to start an
investigation into those people is a big question," he
speculated.

Frans also said that there would be technical constraints in
the application of the principle.

"The Attorney General's Office lacks either determination or
resources in the drive against graft. The new Attorney General
must improve them by implementing internal reforms," he said.

Prior to his inauguration, Susilo said that he would embark on
a new way to prosecute corruptors.

He said that in the litigation of corruptors and fraudulent
businessmen, he would appeal to the House of Representatives to
give the go-ahead for the Attorney General to apply the
principle.

Hours after taking the oath, Susilo reiterated his antigraft
commitment and vowed that he would lead the fight against graft
himself.

The Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) said in its
latest report of its global corruption index that Indonesia was
the world's fifth most corrupt country.

TI Indonesia's Emmy Hafild concurred with Frans, saying that
Susilo had to keep those in his inner circle away from
corruption, otherwise he would repeat the same mistakes made by
his predecessors in the fight against graft.

Emmy said that the inner circle includes the President's
family members, his Cabinet ministers and members of his
Democratic Party.

She said that both former president Megawati Soekarnoputri and
Abdurrahman Wahid had produced numerous laws and regulations
pertaining to corruption eradication, but both failed to handle
corruption cases involving their close aides.

Contacted separately, activist Bambang Widjojanto of the
Partnership for Governance Reform said that given the intricacy
that might result from shifting the burden of a proof to
suspects, the new administration could start the anticorruption
drive by handling cases that had direct relevance to the public.

"The anticorruption drive could target government agencies
that provide direct services to the people such as those that
deal with taxation, education, health and infrastructure," he
told reporters here.

Bambang said if the government was successful in curbing
corruption in public service sectors, people would rally round in
support of any measures to prosecute big fish in corruption.

"Only then the government can start the drive to bring
businessmen who have stolen state money and were later cleared of
any legal problems," he said.