Wealth commission candidates named

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives on Thursday announced a lineup of 204 candidates for a 45-member commission to audit the wealth of state officials.

The House Commission II for home and legal affairs said that the announcement was aimed at subjecting the 204 names to public scrutiny.

Antara reported that among the candidates were the Indonesian Corruption Watch's Teten Masduki, human rights activists Bambang Widjojanto, Zoemrotin K.S. and former National Commission on Human Rights member Baharuddin Lopa, who is currently the Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Also on the list are lawyer Denny Kailimang, former justice Bismar Siregar, activist Eggy Sudjana, lawyer Luhut Pangaribuan and Maj. Gen. Saurip Kadi, former territorial assistant to Army chief of staff.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said earlier this year that the commission would have one chairman, four deputy chairmen and 40 members tasked with auditing officials from state institutions and state-owned companies.

The 1999 Law on Clean Governance stipulates the establishment of an independent commission with at least 25 members to audit the wealth of state officials. The commission should be approved by the House before being sworn in by the president.

Observers and legislators have said that high moral integrity and skill in accountancy and legal matters were important criteria for selection.

The commission will have four subcommissions with 10 members each. The subcommissions will be charged with handling individual duties related to the audit.

The announcement of these 204 names came as the government said on Wednesday that the establishment of the wealth commission was one of the preconditions set to obtain the next loan disbursement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). (byg)