Wealth commission to prob 35,000 government officials

JAKARTA (JP): The independent commission investigating the wealth of government officials will target 35,000 officials ranging from the President to top echelon state employees.

Other state officials to be put under scrutiny will include ministers, governors, regents, judges, ambassadors, high-ranking police officers and officials of state enterprises.

Chairman of the government team to prepare the commission, Darmin Nasution, said on Friday that while collecting evidence into alleged corruption involving state officials, the commission would have a subpoena authority.

A member of the team, Ramli Adnansasmita, said the commission should have to complete its job by May 20 next year.

He said, however, that the commission would not be able to reach former president Soeharto, citing the legal principle which disallows a law to cover a period before its enactment. The commission will be formed based on Law No. 28/1999 on Antigrafts, passed under B.J. Habibie's administration.

"The commission cannot take measures against all state officials who completed their tenures before it takes shape," Ramli said.

Soeharto, who resigned in May last year, has been alleged of making a fortune during his 32-year tenure.

Darmin said 135 government officials and non-governmental organization (NGOs) activists were nominated to fill 25 seats in the commission.

People will have until Dec. 4 to file their objections, along with evidence, to the team, said Darmin. On that day, the President will submit the names to the House of Representatives (DPR), which will carry out the selection.

Former minister of environment Panangian Siregar was among 72 candidates representing the government.

The other 63 nominees have been selected from 85 NGOs and nonbureaucratic institutions. They include Lili Asdjudiredja, who chaired the House of Representatives commission to investigate the high-profile Bank Bali scandal, Salahuddin Wahid, the brother of President Abdurrahman Wahid, and activists from the Indonesian Consumer Foundation Tini Hadad and Zumrotin Kasru Susilo.

None of the candidates come from the popular anticorruption organizations, such as the Indonesian Corruption Watch or the Indonesian Transparency Society.

"The organizations never submitted their candidate's names to our office," Ramli explained.

He also said his team had to turn down some potential candidates because they did not meet the requirement age of between 40 and 75 years old.(04)