Team to probe officials' wealth

Team to probe officials' wealth

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie will soon establish an
independent team to probe the wealth of state officials in a bid
to create clean governance, Minister of Justice Muladi said on
Tuesday.

The President will also submit a number of bills to the House
of Representatives to lay down stronger legal bases to eradicate
corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) practices, he said.

"The commission will be set up before the end of this year,"
said Muladi after having an unscheduled meeting with the
President at Merdeka Palace.

According to Muladi, Habibie has formally passed a bill on
clean governance into law. The bill obliges all government
officials to declare assets when they begin and end tenures with
the state.

The administrative law is officially called the Law on State
Administrators who are Free from KKN practices.

The law, endorsed by the House of Representatives (DPR) in
April, covers the supervision of all state officials, including
the president, ministers, senior government officials and
managers of state-owned enterprises.

It is backed up by the Criminal Code, No. 3/1973 Law on the
Eradication of Crimes of Corruption, and the No. 11/1980 Law on
Bribery.

The House is still deliberating an anticorruption bill to
amend Law No. 3/1973.

The law mandates the President, as the head of state, to head
a Permanent Commission of Examiners to oversee state officials at
executive, legislative and judicatory positions, and assign
officials to state companies.

"The commission will comprise 10 representatives from the
government and 10 from the private sector. They are nominated by
DPR," said Muladi on Tuesday.

The commission also has the power to audit state officials
holding office, as long as it is for clarification and not
investigation purposes.

"The decree on the establishment of the commission will be
signed by the President in his capacity as the head of state,"
said Muladi.

Meanwhile, former president Soeharto, who will be the major
target of the commission, celebrated his 78th birthday on Tuesday
with his children and grand children in Cisarua, West Java.

Well-informed sources said the former first family arrived in
Cisarua soon after they voted on Monday and plan to stay there
until Thursday at least.

They are expected to stay at a hotel inside Taman Safari park
as Soeharto wanted to do camping with his family.

"They are camping in Cisarua," said the source on Tuesday.

Family friends, including his former adjutants, were expected
to attend the celebration. (prb)