Indonesian President Pressured to Reveal Investigation’s Recommendations
Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Febriamy Hutapea
Anumber of activists and politicians on Sunday dialed up the pressure on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to publicly disclose the recommendations of the his special investigation team’s probe into the alleged attempt by the National Police and Attorney General’s Office to discredit the Corruption Eradication Commission.
The Team of Eight established by Yudhoyono is scheduled to formally hand over the results of its investigation into the fiasco today, which has seen two suspended deputy chairmen of the commission, also known as the KPK, charged with abuse of power and extortion. The report is expected to reveal the team’s findings on links between the battle between the law enforcement agencies and the Rp 6.7 trillion ($717 million) bailout of PT Bank Century.
Telephone conversations recorded by the KPK and played during a hearing in the Constitutional Court indicate that the charges may have been an attempt by senior law enforcement officials to take down the antigraft body. The National Police’s chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, and Deputy Attorney General Abdul Hakim Ritonga, resigned from their posts following the hearing. Susno had been leading the investigation of Bank Century.
The AGO is also expected to announce today whether it will accept the police case files prepared in relation to Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah and begin preparing for a trial. It is facing public sentiment against prosecuting the case but also an initial assessment from the team that there was insufficient proof to charge the pair.
Benny K Harman, the head of House of Representatives Commission III for law and security and a member of Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, has said the team’s findings should be revealed publicly.
Usman Hamid, who chairs the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said on Sunday that any attempt to resolve the problems behind closed doors would have serious political consequences for Yudhoyono.
“If President Yudhoyono follows suggestions to close this scandal from the public, then it will significantly decrease the level of citizens’ trust in the government, the law enforcers and the House of Representatives,” Usman said. “So President Yudhoyono must announce the Team Eight’s results.”
He added that the president had a “moral and a political obligation to disclose the team’s findings and recommendations.”
Legislator Budiman Sudjatmiko of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which is outside the ruling coalition, agreed with Usman, saying that Yudhoyono should follow the public’s demand for transparency.
“If the president opts not to reveal the team’s findings he could face a drop in popularity,” Budiman said.
Lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari, also from PDI-P, said the investigation should be disclosed as the team was formed amid growing public distrust of the police and AGO.
Eva said the recommendations should be taken seriously and acted on by the police and AGO.
“If the police and AGO ignore the recommendation of the team, it will be humiliating for the president,” and further tarnish the names of both institutions, Eva said.
Indonesian President Pressured to Reveal Investigation’s Recommendations
Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Febriamy Hutapea
Anumber of activists and politicians on Sunday dialed up the pressure on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to publicly disclose the recommendations of the his special investigation team’s probe into the alleged attempt by the National Police and Attorney General’s Office to discredit the Corruption Eradication Commission.
The Team of Eight established by Yudhoyono is scheduled to formally hand over the results of its investigation into the fiasco today, which has seen two suspended deputy chairmen of the commission, also known as the KPK, charged with abuse of power and extortion. The report is expected to reveal the team’s findings on links between the battle between the law enforcement agencies and the Rp 6.7 trillion ($717 million) bailout of PT Bank Century.
Telephone conversations recorded by the KPK and played during a hearing in the Constitutional Court indicate that the charges may have been an attempt by senior law enforcement officials to take down the antigraft body. The National Police’s chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, and Deputy Attorney General Abdul Hakim Ritonga, resigned from their posts following the hearing. Susno had been leading the investigation of Bank Century.
The AGO is also expected to announce today whether it will accept the police case files prepared in relation to Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah and begin preparing for a trial. It is facing public sentiment against prosecuting the case but also an initial assessment from the team that there was insufficient proof to charge the pair.
Benny K Harman, the head of House of Representatives Commission III for law and security and a member of Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, has said the team’s findings should be revealed publicly.
Usman Hamid, who chairs the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said on Sunday that any attempt to resolve the problems behind closed doors would have serious political consequences for Yudhoyono.
“If President Yudhoyono follows suggestions to close this scandal from the public, then it will significantly decrease the level of citizens’ trust in the government, the law enforcers and the House of Representatives,” Usman said. “So President Yudhoyono must announce the Team Eight’s results.”
He added that the president had a “moral and a political obligation to disclose the team’s findings and recommendations.”
Legislator Budiman Sudjatmiko of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which is outside the ruling coalition, agreed with Usman, saying that Yudhoyono should follow the public’s demand for transparency.
“If the president opts not to reveal the team’s findings he could face a drop in popularity,” Budiman said.
Lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari, also from PDI-P, said the investigation should be disclosed as the team was formed amid growing public distrust of the police and AGO.
Eva said the recommendations should be taken seriously and acted on by the police and AGO.
“If the police and AGO ignore the recommendation of the team, it will be humiliating for the president,” and further tarnish the names of both institutions, Eva said.