Continuing the fight against corruption (Part 1 of 2) Fritz Siregar  ;   The writer, a former judicial associate to the Constitutional Court, is currently completing his PhD at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia

JAKARTA POST, 15 September 2014

                                                                                                                       

                                                      

Finally, the Constitutional Court confirmed Joko “Jokowi” Widodo as the seventh president of Indonesia. There are no other constitutional methods that can be pursued in order to challenge his legitimacy. His rival, Prabowo Subianto, not only disputed the votes that he claimed to be lost, but he also challenged the performance of the General Elections Commission (KPU) in conducting the presidential election and the behavior of Jokowi’s campaign team. Yet the court and the Election Organization Ethics Council (DKPP) ruled that the KPU had conducted a satisfactory job overall in organizing the presidential election throughout Indonesia and overseas, a difficult task that won global praise despite many shortcomings. On July 9, 133 million voters made the highest number of voters for a voting day worldwide. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may have won the 2009 presidential race with 60 percent of the vote, but he did not have the public support Jokowi enjoyed, particularly through volunteer activism. And it is Yudhoyono’s numerous unfinished tasks that will be the true test for the new leader. Thus, Jokowi will need much more public support. Legal reform has been on the agenda since the fall of Soeharto. Reform teams at the Supreme Court, the Attorney General’s Office and the National Police have been among those established for such reform. Recommendations have been submitted not only by the Presidential Advisory Council but also various institutions and civil society groups, however these have been taken up more slowly than intended. The slow process is blamed on various reasons, such as coordination between institutions, the lack of implementing regulations and under-motivated leaders and their subordinates, as well as corruption. The direct result is discriminate law enforcement. Article 27 of the 1945 Constitution already grants the constitutional right of equality before the law, and the government must respect the law, with no exceptions. However, law enforcement is still perceived to be discriminate, or tebang pilih. The legal mafia still operates in the judiciary, the police and the public prosecution. The parties with power can frame and extort victims for money. One example: in the name of the law on religious blasphemy, people who worship in a different way from mainstream Islam have been attacked, virtually without the attackers being questioned by authorities. For instance, the Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing the establishment of the Yasmin Church in Bogor, West Java, however the decision is still unenforceable, just as the Bank Century bailout case has never come to completion. The list could go on and on. Part of the problem relates to contradicting regulations. Strong political support from and for Jokowi is needed to create real enforcement. Further, prevention of gratification was regulated by Law No. 31/1999 and Law No. 20/2001 on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Article 12B of the 2001 law states that graft includes money, rebates (discounts), goods, commissions, interest-free loans and other facilities that could trigger acts of corruption or bribery. Gratification also includes gratuities received from domestic or foreign parties, performed with or without the use of electronic means. If found to have violated these statutes, an offender could receive a criminal penalty of either life imprisonment or a term of four to 20 years in prison and could be imposed a fine of at least Rp 200 million (US$1,6993), but most commonly Rp 1 billion. The cases of the former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar, former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, former youth and sports minister Andi Marallangeng, inactive Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah and former Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) chief Rudi Rubiandini are just a few examples of high public officers that ended up at the KPK as a result of graft and bribery. In Indonesia, where the giving of presents or gifts might be seen as a cultural gesture, every public servant and state official must report gifts to the KPK within 30 days of receiving them, and the KPK determines whether the gift shall be held by the recipient or should be included in state assets. The KPK is responsible for managing such reports and reviewing anything that public servants and state officials receive during their official terms. ●