W. Sumatra holds graft briefing
The Jakarta Post, Padang/Semarang/Bandarlampung
More than 200 councillors and executives in West Sumatra have attended a briefing on the law and regulations in government, the provincial prosecutor's office said on Saturday.
The gathering, the first of its kind in the country, is aimed at broadening the understanding of public officials so they will not become involved in the misuse of public money in the future.
"What we have learnt from the widespread prosecution of councillors charged with corruption nationwide, is that many cases stemmed from councillors' ignorance about the law and regulations against corruption," West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office chief Muchtar Arifin said at the gathering.
The meeting was attended by 217 councillors from five regencies and municipalities in the province. Executives including regents and mayors also attended.
Officials from the West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office used the day to brief their audience about the Law on Corruption, the drafting of the regency or municipality budgets and other matters.
Budget drafting was an important focus of the meeting because most of councillors nationwide were being charged with the illegal manipulation of regency or municipality budgets.
Dozens of councillors have been prosecuted in Kampar, Riau, charged after receiving large payouts at the end of their terms. These gratitudes were proposed by the councillors in the regency budget and was approved by Kampar Regent. Non-governmental organizations in the regency alerted prosecutors to the case when it became obvious the payouts had no legal basis.
All 45 councillors were in the regency were investigated.
Muchtar said that a similar gathering would be held in the near future and about 400 councillors and executives in the province were expected to attend.
Meanwhile, in the Central Java capital of Semarang, dozens of demonstrators from the Semarang People's Solidarity movement staged a rally in the city, calling for the newly elected council to be less corrupt and more responsible with public money. The rally was held in front of Semarang City Hall where 45 new councillors were being sworn in for the 2004 to 2009 term.
One councillor who did not attend the ceremony was Sri Martianingsih from the Democratic Party, who is being held by police for allegedly forging her school diploma so as to be eligible to run for office. The councillor has still been named on the list of councillors in the municipality despite her prosecution. However, if she was found guilty by the court, she would be expelled from the council, Semarang General Election Commission official Nurul Achmad said.
Separately, in the Lampung provincial capital of Bandarlampung, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) official Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas said the super-watchdog might take over investigations into the alleged corruption in the Lampung provincial budget if the government and the prosecutors approved a letter from local councillors asking for a halt to the probe.
Erry said the law gave the KPK the right to take over any graft investigations by police or prosecutors.
His comment followed report that executives at the Lampung provincial council had sent letters to Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno and the Lampung Prosecutor's Office, calling for the halt of a probe into the alleged embezzlement of Rp 19.5 billion (US$2 million) from the 2001 Lampung provincial budget.
Before it took over, the KPK would look into three requirements that would enable it to intervene in the case, said Erry.
The KPK could intervene if law enforcers were seen not to be serious in probing the case, if they worked to protect suspects or if executives or House members interfered in the process.
"If any of these requirements is fulfilled, then the KPK will take over the investigation process," he said.
The investigation centers on alleged graft implicating 75 councillors in the provincial council. Six have been named as suspects in the investigation by the Lampung Prosecutor's Office.