The Girl behind the PKS Scandal

One of the reasons for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to arrest former chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Luthfi Hasan Iskaq last Wednesday, was their investigations that lead to the arrest of several people including a 19 years old girl i.e. Maharani Suciyono the day before.

Maharani was arrested with Luthfi's assistant i.e Ahmad Fathanah, has five wives (here), in a bedroom of Le Meridien Hotel, Central Jakarta. At that time, they were both naked, and the KPK found Rp 10 Million in her hand-bag.

Maharani is a student at a university located not faraway from the People's Representatives Council  in Central Jakarta, and she live in the same neighborhood as Luthfi (read here).

After she was released from KPK detention, Maharani and her lawyer held a press conference at Hotel Nalendra, East Jakarta, on Tuesday, during which she denied that she and Ahmad Fathanah were inside the hotel's room when they were caught by the KPK. She said that they both met at the hotel's basement and coffee shop, during which Ahmad Fathanah gave her Rp 10 Million.

Maharani told reporters that she knew Ahmad through a waiter at a coffee in Senayan City one day before the arrest. The waiter told her that Ahmad want to meet her and gave her the latter's mobile phone number (read here and here).

According to the KPK, the Rp 10 Million received by Maharani, was part of the Rp 1 Billion Ahmad received from Meat Importer as a down payment of Rp 40 Billion to be given to Luthfi who will arrange Meat Import quota with the authorities.

Photo : Courtesy of Tribune News

PKS: Corruption & Polygamy

Yesterday, the largest Islam based party the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has announced Anis Matta (44) as its new President to replace Luthfi Hasan Iskaq.

Luthfi was named a Suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) last Wednesday in a bribery case centering on the government's procurement of imported meat (details here).

This is the second time that a PKS politician implicated in Corruption case after Misbakhun who was found guilty by the courts in 2010 for his involvement in the fake Letter of Credit (LC) of the troubled Bank Century but released after the Supreme Court accepted his request for Judicial Review (details here and here).

In his first speech as PKS President, Anis Matta stated his suspicion that the allegation against Luthfi was part of a grand conspiracy against the party. I think this is a "wild statement" considering that KPK is still conducting investigations on the case. It could be some sort of a "boomerang" if later on the court find him guilty. The best thing for PKS would be to cooperate with KPK in the investigation of this case.

One interesting thing about Anis Matta, formerly the party's Secretary General, is the fact that he is still young compared to chairmen of most political parties, and he has two wives, the second one being a Hungarian lady.

Beside Anis Matta, other PKS leaders also lead the polygamous life style, including its former president Tifatul Sembiring (currently Minister of Communication & Information) who has two wives, its Deputy Treasurer General Didin Aminuddin who has three wives, and its member of Parliament Zulkifliemansyah  who has two wives (details here).

Hmmmm ....... I wonder whether PKS is planing to make Indonesia a Polygamous country ?

Logo :  Courtesy of Wikipedia

Sexual Gratification in Indonesia

On 12 June 2012, former Director of Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau Ng Boon Gay, faced two charges of obtaining Sexual Gratification from the Senior Sales Manager at Oracle Corporation Singapore Pte. on December 2011 as an inducement to help further Oracle's business interests. 

According to Reuters, Ng also faces two other charges of obtaining Sexual Gratification from the same individual when she was an employee of Hitachi Data Systems Ltd. 

The charges against Ng come one week after the former head of Singapore's Civil Defense Force Peter Lim faced 10 Sexual Gratification charges involving three different women working for IT firms in the city state.                                                                                                
Unlike Singapore, where the laws stipulated that Sexual Gratification is a Crime, the laws in Indonesia do not explicitly mention Sexual Gratification as a Corruption Crime (Bribery).

The website of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) quoted the Anti Corruption Law No. 31/ 1999 Article 12B and Law No. 20/2001 : "Any Gratification to a Civil Servant of State Official is regarded as Bribery, if it is connected to his/her position and contradictory to obligation or duty, as follows ....."

Further, the Explanation of said Art. 12 B : "Gratification: is widely defined as any acts of giving money, goods/things, discount, commission, interest free loan, travelling ticket, accommodation, package tour, free medical treatment, and other facility in Indonesia or abroad using manual or electronic facility.

Actually Sexual Gratification if not something strange in Indonesia. The Indonesian Corruption Watch was quoted by Okezone as saying that Sexual Gratification has long existed and often been used in Indonesia.

While the Chief of the Constitutional Court Mahfud MD was quoted by Inilah.com as saying that Sexual Gratification may have stronger impact than Money Gratification, therefore he support inclusion of Sexual Gratification in the Anti Corruption Law.  

Although our Law has not regard Sexual Gratification as a Corruption Crime (Bribery), I hope that Marketing people, especially the ladies, would not use Sex as part of  their efforts to win the hearts and the minds of their customers.

Last but not least, I also hope that Sexual Gratification would soon be regarded as a Corruption Crime (Bribery) that is by the amendment of the Anti Corruption Law.

Photo : Courtesy of Photo Search

The Arrest of Angie

After he was arrested in Colombia several months ago, Nazaruddin told the Commission for Eradication of Corruption (KPK) that there were some top officials in President SBY's Democrat Party who were involved with him in the alleged Athlete Housing Bribery and other Corruption cases.

Among the names mentioned were Democrat Party Chief Anas Urbaningrum and Deputy Secretary General Angelina Sondakh a.k.a Angie the Miss Indonesia 2001.

Based on this revelation, politicians and the news media urged KPK to immediately investigations on those persons. So, on 3 February 2012, KPK announced Angie as a Suspect based the Anti-Corruption Law.

After that KPK focused on prosecuting Nazaruddin to the Court, and did not seem to take further actions on Angie and the others, which angered politicians.

Last Friday, 27 April 2012, the KPK finally arrested Angie. Suara Karya quoted KPK Spokesman Johan Budi as saying that Angie is arrested for alleged corruption in the Ministry of Education, and she will remain in its custody for 20 days.

Kompas reported that Angie's lawyer Teuku Nasrullah protested the arrest because KPK only issued Investigation Order after the arrest, while actually it should be done before it named Angie as a Suspect more than 2 months ago.

I hope that the arrest of Angie is purely based on legal grounds as stated by KPK, and not merely because of pressures from the news media and politicians.

The Latest Fight Against Corruption

During the trial of Nunun Nurbaeti at the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court last Monday, the Prosecutors of the Commission for Eradication of Corruption (KPK) demanded the Court to punish her to four years in Jail, pay Rp 200 Million Fine, and Confiscate the amount of Rp 1 Billion.

Although her lawyers protested, but Nunun looked so happy, this is obvious because the jail term was one year lighter than the maximum ruled by the Anti-Corruption Law. Moreover, the Prosecutor did not mention her effort to avoid legal charges by leaving the country for two and half years.

The 61 years old wife of former Deputy Chief of Police Adang Darajatun is on trial for allegedly bribing 28 members of the House of Representatives with Rp 480 Billion in travelers checks. The checks were given after the members voted for Miranda Gultom in an election for Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Indonesia in 2004.

This is the second time that a Defendant was punished lightly after the Corruption Court sentenced former Treasurer of President SBY's Democrat Party i.e. Nazaruddin to four years and ten months in jail and a fine of Rp 200 Million for receiving Bribe of Rp 4.6 Billion in the Athlete Housing case last Friday.

This Court's sentence was much lighter than demanded by the KPK Prosecutor i.e. seven years in jail and fine of Rp 300 Million.

Beside the above crime, Nazaruddin must still face other legal charges such as the alleged money laundering in the purchase of Garuda Shares, the Hambalang case.

The above mentioned Prosecutors's Demand in Nunun's case and Court Verdict in Nazaruddin's case and other previous Court Verdicts (please click here) show that we are far from winning the fight against Corruption.

We can only hope that in the future the KPK would always do their very best to prepare every Corruption cases properly, obtain strong and convincing evidences before they brought them to the Court, and demand heavier punishments.

I would prefer that KPK's Prosecutor would always demand very heavy penalty, including Life or even Death Sentence, that way the Court can be expected to consider passing heavier Sentences.

Remission for Corruption, Illegal Drug and Terror Criminals

In connection with the Eid Ul-Fitr celebration, the government has been very kind to Criminals who were sentenced to jail by the Courts of Law for their involvement in Corruption, Illegal Drugs and Terrorism.

Tribune News reported that the government has granted Remission (Jail Sentence Discount) to 235 Corruption Criminals (8 released), 6,793 Illegal Drug Criminals (65 released) and 36 Terror Criminals.

This is the second time in one month that the government granted Remission to Corruption Criminals after it granted to many other Corruption Criminals during Independence Day on 17 August 2011.

The granting of Remission has been criticized by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Rakyat Merdeka quoted Johan Budi of KPK as saying that grating of Remission to Corruption Criminals should be restricted considering that Corruption is an extraordinary crime therefore should not be treated ordinarily.

I hope that in the future the government would not grant anymore Remission to Corruption, Illegal Drug and Terror Criminals, so that they would really learn to obey the laws.

Nazaruddin is Not a Hero

One thing I like about today's celebration of Independence Day is that most of the mass media are not reporting about the Nazaruddin case for the time being.

This is good for me because I am beginning to be bored at the behaviors of politicians who tried to build public opinion as if Nazaruddin is a  hero and the law enforcement agency, especially the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is evil.

While actually KPK has named Nazaruddin as Suspect in corruption cases including the misuse of fund for development of athlete building in Palembang, South Sumatera, who ran away to other countries, and was caught by the Interpol in Columbia. who later on hand him over to our law enforcement agencies.

First there was the lawyer OC Kaligis who was very angry because he failed to get asylum for Nazaruddin in Colombia therefore he should be returned to Indonesia. Besides, O.C Kaligis was also angry because he was not allowed to accompany Nazaruddin during the flight from Colombia to Jakarta.

I can understand why he is angry because as a lawyer he has been paid to do his very best to defend his client, but to advise him to take asylum in Colombia (and evade Indonesian laws) ?
However, I agree that Nazaruddin should be accompanied by a lawyer during the 38 hours flight.

Then there was the members of the House of Representatives who forcefully entered the Mobile Brigade Headquarters where Nazaruddin is detained.even though not during visiting hours.
Due his his status a member of the House of Representatives has not been revoked, other member may visit him, but should honor the regulation at the place of detention.

Then there was those politicians who demand that Nazaruddin should be protected by the Witness and Victim Protection Institution, which is unreasonable because Nazaruddin is neither a Witness nor a Victim, but a Suspect. 

Considering the above, I hope that KPK would always treat Nazaruddin according to the laws and regulations.

The Return of Nazaruddin

After almost 40 hours flight from Bogota, Colombia, the Gulfstream Jet landed at the Halim Military airbase in East Jakarta at 7.15 pm last night, bringing home the former Treasurer General of the ruling Democrat Party Muhammad Nazaruddin.

Nazaruddin stepped down from the 4 Billion Rupiah chartered jet plane wearing a bullet proof vest, hand cuffed and heavily guarded by the Police, and taken directly to the headquarters of the Mobile Brigade of the National Police in Depok, West Java for identity checking..

More than an hour later, he was taken to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) at South Jakarta that will investigate allegations against him, especially about his involvement in the misused of fund for the development of an athlete housing in Palembang, South Sumatera.

Later, KPK Chief Busyro Muqodas gave a press conference, during which Nazaruddin's black handbag, sealed by Colombia Police, was opened. The bag contain US$ 20,000, wallet, 3 mobile phones, USB.

After that, all those things were put inside the hand bag again, re-sealed, and kept by the KPK as evidence. Busyro promised that the investigations will be carried out transparently.

Before midnight, Nazaruddin was returned to the Mobile Brigade headquarters where he will be detained.

Many people are happy with the law enforcement's success in bringing back Nazaruddin, because it would enable him to prove whether or not his allegations were true.

However, some people were not happy, such as Nazaruddin's lawyer OC Kaligis who alleged that the Indonesian government has obstructed Nazruddin's efforts to get an asylum in Colombia, and did not allow him to accompany Nazaruddin on the flight to Jakarta

He also said that this case would not be investigated properly by the KPK because two of its officials were alleged by Nazaruddin of being involved in corruption cases. Moreover they doubt that President the Democrat Party would allow Nazaruddin to be investigated transparently.

I believed that the success of our government and law enforcement agency to coordinate with Interpol and the Colombian government to bring back Nazaruddin is the best thing for Indonesia, because it would enable them to investigate all the allegations that he has made against others, as well as the allegations made against him.

Any efforts to obstruct the return of Nazaruddin to Indonesia, such as trying to arrange asylum for him would be against the interest of the people and the state of Indonesia.

How did Nazaruddin get to Colombia?

Former General Treasurer of the ruling Democrat Party i.e. M. Nazaruddin (here), wanted by the Police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), was arrested by the Police on Sunday in Cartagena, Colombia.

Republika quoted the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security Djoko Suyanto as saying that he received the news from the Indonesian Ambassador to Colombia i.e. Michael Manufandu who said that Nazaruddin was holding a passport under the name of M. Syahruddin.when he was arrested.

And in order to make sure that the man is Nazaruddin, members of the Police and the KPK shall be send to Colombia immediately..

President SBY, Chairman of the Democrat Party Consultative Council, was happy when he told reporters (here) about the arrest of Nazaruddin earlier this evening. He said that he wants Nazruddin protected and allowed to say anything he wants to say.

I am very happy that our law enforcement agencies have successfully coordinated with the Interpol and the Colombian Police for the arrest of Nazaruddin.

However, considering that our government has canceled Nazaruddin's passport more than one month ago while he was assumed to be staying in Singapore or Cambodia, how did he get the false passport under the name of M. Syahruddin ?

Who helped him get the said false passport and arranged the travel to Columbia ?
Why did he choose Colombia which is known to be a haven for illegal drug dealers ?
Is Nazaruddin connected to international drug dealer syndicate ?

These questions became relevant if we think of the fact that Nazaruddin  (33) was very rich when he was the General Treasurer of the Democrat Party that he contributed Billions of Rupiah of money for the party.  
I hope that the Police and the KPK would investigate about this matter thoroughly so that my questions would be answered.

The SRI Mulyani Party

Yesterday the news media reported about the submission of application for registration of a  new political party called S.R.I ( Serikat Rakyat Independen = Independent People Union) with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.

The party claimed (here) that it already has 33 branches i.e one branch in every 33 provinces of Indonesia, therefore its leaders are confident that it would be eligible to participate in the 2014 general election.

But the most interesting thing about this new party is its plan to nominate Sri Mulyani (48), former Finance Minister currently Managing Director of the World Bank, as a candidate in the 2014 presidential election..
Unfortunately, Sri Mulyani has never confirm about this.

The plan to nominate Sri Mulyani received various response from the public, one of them is human rights activist Hendardi who said (here) that her nomination may be blocked by the Bank Century scandal : the unclear 6,7 Trillion Rupiah Bail Out of a privately owned bank when she was Finance Minister.

Hendardi said that Sri Mulyani can only be nominated as candidate president if the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) clear her name. The problem is that the KPK has not investigate her until now.

I agree with Hendardi's opinion about Sri Mulyani, but I am not sure whether or not the SRI Party will get the approval to participate in the 2014 general election. Even if the party can get said approval, to nominate a presidential candidate it needs to get 20% of the seats in the national parliament, or 25% of the total legitimate votes in the general election (here). Otherwise, it has to form a coalition with other parties.

So, in my opinion Sri Mulyani's political future in Indonesia is still very uncertain.

The case would be different if Sri Mulyani could join forces with big political parties like the ruling Democrat Party, of course her name should be cleared first by the KPK.
Or, perhaps with the Golkar Party but it would be almost impossible because it has been trying hard get her down for the Bank Century scandal.

Is the Press Always Right ?

Three months ago, M. Nazaruddin was dismissed from his position as Treasurer of the ruling Democrat Party and runaway to Singapore after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) alleged that he was involved in the misappropriation of fund for development of athlete housing in Palembang, South Sumatera.

Since then, the mass media in Indonesia has been reporting about him, about the people around him and about all the bad things he said about the Party's top officials, including President SBY, via SMS and BlackBerry Messenger every night and day.

All that have seemingly made top officials of the Democrat Party very angry and conflict among them. Due to which fact President SBY as Chairman of the Parrty's Advisory Board blamed the mass media for not being fair in reporting about the case.

But according to the Chief of the Indonesian Press Council i.e. former Chief Justice Bagir Manan, the media has so far not violated the Press Code of Ethics in reporting the Nazaruddin Case.

Two TV stations i.e. TvOne owned by Golkar Party boss Aburizal Bakrie, and MetroTV owned by National Democrat Party boss Surya Paloh, frequently broadcast live interviews with Nazaruddin, during which he once again made very serious allegations against top officials of the Democrat Party, KPK leaders, Directors of State owned companies, etc.

In reaction to Nazaruddin's allegations, the Chairman of the Democrat Party Anas Urbaningrum has reported Nazaruddin to the Police for false allegations. And recently, President SBY urged Nazaruddin to come home to prove all his allegations.

The above shows that the Mass Media in Indonesia has now become a powerful entity in our society and they would do anything to make people read/hear/see their news reports including sensational ones, so that companies want to place advertisement on their media.

Therefore, I felt that the public should be very careful in taking any news reported by the mass media,. especially those that are owned by politicians or have connections with them.

The KPK Chief will serve full term

The Chief of the Constitutional Court Mahfud MD announced yesterday that the Chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) i.e. Busyro Muqoddas, should serve full 4-years term, not just one year as decided by the House of Representative when they elected him on December 2010.

The Court's ruling was made in response to the request the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) and Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) that office term of the Chief of KPK should be 4 years as stipulated in Article 34 of the KPK Law.

I hope that with this ruling, the KPK would be more confident in fighting corruptions, and the government and its law enforcement agencies would always give their full support.

Singapore is a Safe Place to Hide

On 23 May, the Democrat Party dismissed M. Nazaruddin as it's General Treasurer for his alleged role in a Bribery case surrounding a South East Asian Games construction project and an attempt to bribe the Secretary General of of the Constitutional Court Janedri Gaffar with Sing $ 120,000.00.

On 24 May, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) asked the Immigration Office to forbid Nazaruddin from traveling outside Indonesia so as to facilitate investigation on the allegations against him.
Unfortunately, Nazarrudin has departed for Singapore the night before immediately after he was dismissed by his party.

KPK also targeted Nunun Nurbaeti. wife of former Vice Chief of the National Police now a member of the House of Representatives of the Welfare Justice Party (PKS) Adang Darajatun, who has recently been named a Suspect in the Bribery of members of the House of Representatives during the election of Miranda Gultom as the Deputy Chairperson of the Bank Indonesia.

Until now Nunun cannot be questioned because she was reported to be suffering Amnesia, can't remember what happened to her in the past, and before she was named a Suspect Nunun went to Singapore for medical treatment.

Before that, there were other people wanted by the National Police who ran away to Singapore. One of them was ex Tax man Gayus Tambunan who was investigated by the Police for allegations of corruption. Luckily the National Police was able to persuade Gayus to return to Jakarta.

Beside that, there was also Anggodo Wijaya who was found guilty of corruption by the Court in Jakarta, but cannot be jailed because he ran away to Singapore before the authorities arrested him.

The fact that Indonesian and Singapore do not have extradition treaty has made it impossible for Indonesian law enforcement agencies to ask Singapore to turn anyone who broke the laws in Indonesia if they go and hide in Singapore.

However, I hope that  Indonesia and Singapore would soon sign an extradition treaty, especially that both are members of the Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) which in 2015 will become the ASEAN Community.

Susno the Whistle Blower

Yesterday, Prosecutors at the South Jakarta District Court has demanded the court to sentence former Chief of Detectives of the National Police Comnr Gen. Susno Duadji 7 years in Jail and pay Fine of 500 Million Rupiah.

The prosecutors indicted Susno for allegedly receiving bribes amounting to 500 million Rupiah from a legal case broker and another bribe he allegedly received  when he was Chief of Regional Police in West Java in 2001.

Many people, especially his lawyers and the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), said that the demand was wrong because most witnesses have testified in favor of Susno in the court  trial.

They suspected that the demand was part of a conspiracy to silence Susno who has revealed many big crimes against the state such as tax crimes committed by former Taxman Gayus Tambunan and 151 companies he handled, involvement of high ranking Police officers etc.

Beside that, Susno has testified in favor of former Chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Antasari Azhar who was later sentenced to jail for murder of a director of state own company.

In my opinion, Susno Duadji is a very unique person. When he was still Chief of Detectives, Susno has expressively shown animosity toward the KPK which he dubbed as Gecko compared with the Police which he dubbed as Crocodile. He was so mad at the KPK after they found that Susno has helped the release of big sum of money to a suspect in the Bank Century case.

Considering the above, I hope that Susno and his team of lawyers would present a statement of defense supported by evidences that would convince the Court judges.

KPK and the Politicians

Last Friday, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested 19 current and former members of the House of Representatives over alleged bribery related to the appointment Senior Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia in 2004.

The arrest angered political parties of those politicians, Golkar Party, the PPP and PDIP, who alleged that KPK has not been fair in their actions. They said that KPK should take action on recent cases like the Bank Century bailout.

They further alleged that the arrest was a consession made by KPK to the Attorney General in exchange for the release of two of its Vice Chairmen i.e. Bibit and Chandra from Criminal Prosecution. 

In retaliation to KPK's action, last Monday the House of Representatives Legal Commission canceled a meeting with KPK, because some of their members refused to meet with Bibit and Chandra who they claimed are still not cleared from Criminal Prosecutions.
Later on, they banned both gentlemen from attending future meetings with the House.  

The above mentioned actions of the members of the House of Representatives reminded me of the statement made by former President Abdurrahman Wahid who alleged that their behaviours were like Kindergarten kids.

Photo : Courtesy of Wikipedia.

Is Antasari really Guilty ?

After the South Jakarta District Court sentenced him to Seven Years in prison and pay a Fine of Rp 300 Million last week, ex Taxman Gayus Tambunan made some shocking statements to reporters.

Gayus said that the Prosecutors should have brought Cirus Sinaga, who prosecuted him in his previous case, as witness. He said that this was not done because they feared that Cirus Sinaga would reveal the irregularities in the murder case of former Chief of the Corruption Eradication Commision (KPK) Antasari Azhar. He also said that Cirus Sinaga has fabricated the said murder case.

Antasari is now serving an 18-year jail term for ordering the murder of state company director Nasrudin Zulkarnaen in March 2009. The Supreme Court has upheld the verdicts of the District Court and the High Court in Jakarta.

Last Tuesday, one week after Gayus made his allegations, the lawyer of Cirus Sinaga denied those allegations.

Gayus's statement reminded me of the murder charges against Antasari who was popular at that time because of KPK's successes in handling Corruption Cases that involved very important officials, e.g. former Deputy Governor of the Bank Indonesia who is the father-in-law of President SBY's son, and Bank Century Bailout which involved former Governor of said Bank and current Vice President Boediono.

First, there was the relationship between Antasari and the Golf Caddy girl Rani Juliani who turned out to be the second wife of the director of the state company he murdered.
As the a top official, it is very strange that he want to be involved continuously with such girl while actually he can easily get better ones.     

Secondly there was the rendezvous between Antasari and the girl at a hotel at a very crowded area in South Jakarta. For a married guy in his position, this is very foolish. Why not choose a villa at the Ancol beach resort in North Jakarta  where they can do anything they want without others knowing ?

Third, the murder was carried out by a group of 11 people lead by a Police Colonel Wiliardi that reminded me of commando operation in battle movies. Why so many people involved in the murder of an unguarded civilian ? Actually it can be done by only two persons therefore minimizing the leak of information about the crime.

Fourth, according to the report of Forensic Expert Dr Mu'nim Idris, it was difficult for him to determine about the murder because Nasrudin's body was sent to him in a manipulated condition, it has been moved from one hospital to another, bullet wounds were stitched, his hair shaved.

Fifth, Colonel Wiliardi said that the murder was fabricated by the Police. While former Chief Detectives of the National Police Susno Duaji confessed in favor of Antasari. 

Considering the above, I felt that there should be an investigation to find out the truth about the murder charges against Antasari Azhar.

Sources :
-  Tudingan Rekayasa Polri di Sekitar Kasus Antasari (Detik)
-  Cirus Says No Set Up in Antasari's Murder Trial (The Jakarta Globe)
-  Mayat Nasrudin Sudah dimanipulasi (VivaNews)
-  MA Tolak Kasasi Antasari (Liputan6)
-  Satgas Bantah Semua Tuduhan Gayus Tambunan (Tribune News)

A Crime Suspect sworn in as Mayor

Last Friday, Jefferson Rumajar, Mayor of Tomohon, was sworn in to serve his second term in office, and Jimmy Eman as Deputy Mayor.

The ceremony took place at the Ministry of Home Affairs in Jakarta, because since September Rumajar has been detained by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as Suspect in a Corruption case that is now being tried at a Court in Jakarta.
  
After the ceremony, Rumajar, member of the Golkar Party,  returned to jail to induct 28 officials of the town of Tomohon, North Sulawesi.

Rumajar told reporters that although he will be in jail until the Court determine his legal status, however there will not be any problem because Deputy Mayor Jimmy Eman who will serve as Acting Mayor.

Meanwhile, Governor of North Sulawesi Sarundayang said that Rumajar will be suspended from his position as Mayor and Jimmy Eman shall become Acting Mayor. He also said that the induction of 28 officials by Rumajar was not legitimate.

The induction of a crime suspect is possible based on the Chief of Region Law 20044 which adopted the concept of Presumption of Innocent i.e a person is assumed innocent until there is a final court verdict which  determine otherwise.
In this case, Rumajar's position as Mayor will be determined after there is a final Court Verdict. If he is found guilty, his position shall be canceled, otherwise he would be be an effective Mayor.

The above shows that the sworn in of a Crime Suspect to serve as a Mayor has created uncertainty on who will lead the town, therefore should be avoided. For which purpose, I hope that Crime Suspects should not be allowed to participate as candidate in elections.

For details on the above, please read the following articles ::
-  Graft Suspect Made Mayor in North Sulawesi (The Jakarta Globe)
-  Graft-suspect incumbent sworn in as Tomohon Mayor (The Jakarta Post)
-  Walikota Tomohon Dinonaktifkan (Metrotv)

 Photo: Courtesy of Media Palu

The New Chief Corruption Fighter

  

Busyro Muqoddas has been elected by the House of Representatives Commission III as the Chief of Corruption Erradication Commission (KPK).

Out of 55 members of the Commission III, which oversees Legal Affairs, 34 have voted for Busyro, current Chief of the Judicial Commission, 20 voted for Bambang Widjajanto, Lawyer, 1 abstained.


According to The Jakarta Globe, Busyro has impressed House members with his desire to see stronger punishment for those convicted for corruption and his proposal to make Corruption a Human Rights violation rather than just an ordinary Crime.

Although Busyro would only be Chief of KPK for a period of one year, however I hope that he would be able to do his job smoothly.

Prosecution of Bibit-Chandra

Last Friday, Acting Attorney General Darmono told reporters about his decision to " deponeer " i.e set aside, the prosecution of two deputy chiefs of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Bibit Samad Rijanto and Chandra Hamzah.

Darmono explained that this action is necessary to serve greater public interest i.e. to safeguard the fight against corruption. In this connection he will seek the supports of the Parliament, the Constitutional Court and the Government.

Although this decision is considered by many people as the best option for Bibit-Chandra, but considering that it is contradictory to an earlier verdict of the Supreme Court which ordered the resumption of said prosecution, and because Darmono is not a definite Attorney General, there might be a possibility that it may be challenged.

Photo : Courtesy of Mata News

Sources :
-  Kejaksaan Agung Resmi Putuskan Deponeering Kasus Bibit-Chandra (TVOne)
-  Deponeering kasus Bibit-Chandra lawan perintah pengadilan (Primaironline)

KPK Leaders' Judicial Review Denied

The Supreme Court today rejected the Judicial Review for the Bribery Case of two Deputy Chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Bibid Riyanto and Chandra Hamzah.

Please find below a news report that I have quoted from The Jakarta Post.

With this rejection, trial of Bibit and Chandra, which was stopped by the Attorney General Office but then challenged by the Defendant, should now be resumed.

KPK leaders face detention as court rejects case review motion      

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 10/08/2010 4:37 PM | Headlines

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputies Bibit Rianto and Chandra Hamzah are facing imminent detention after the Supreme Court has turned down Friday their motion for a review of their bribery case.

The two KPK leaders had previously defied the Jakarta High Court’s ruling which declared the state prosecutors’ decision to suspend their bribery case illegal. The high court’s verdict should have been enough to send Bibit and Chandra to jail pending their trial, but they challenged the ruling by demanding a case review, which many consider a bad precedent for law enforcement in the country.

Bibit and Chandra were quick to consult their lawyer to find legal measures to keep them from prison for the second time.

“I am leaving for the KPK office. Later I will disclose legal measures that we will take,” Taufik Basari, one of the KPK leaders’ lawyers, said as quoted by kompas.com.

The Attorney General’s Office dropped bribery and abuse of power charges leveled on the two KPK leaders for sociological reasons. Bribery suspect Anggodo Widjojo then contested the policy in court, insisting that Bibit and Chandra received bribes from him.

Anggodo was sentenced to four years in jail after the court found him guilty of obstructing a KPK investigation and attempting to bribe KPK officials.

Tape recordings of conversation between Anggodo and several senior police officer and prosecutors played in a Constitutional Court hearing revealed that the bribery and abuse of power charges leveled on Bibit and Chandra were orchestrated.

Bibit and Chandra were arrested under the false charges, but were released a few days later following mounting public pressures.

Anggodo’s lawyer, Bonaran Situmeang, said Friday both Bibit and Chandra had no more reason to avoid detention as the Supreme Court had stated that their trial for alleged bribery and abuse of power should go ahead.

“Never treat them as prophets so that they can evade prison. The state prosecutors should detain them for the sake of equality before the law,” he said.