Govt to swear in Syamsul despite appeal

Desy Nurhayati and Wahyoe Boediwardhana , The Jakarta Post , Serang, Malang | Sat, 03/15/2008 11:56 AM | National

The government will swear in elected General Elections Commission (KPU) member Syamsul Bahri soon, the vice president has said, despite one organization's call to wait for an end to his current court case.

"If Syamsul Bahri is declared guilty in his appeal, then he will no longer remain on as a KPU member," said Vice President Jusuf Kalla during his trip to Serang, Banten.

Kalla said a recent consultation meeting between the government and the House of Representatives had decided the district court's verdict would be the basis for swearing in Syamsul or not.

"If the district court issues a verdict of innocence, then the government will immediately swear him in. But if the verdict is the opposite, the government will look for his replacement as a KPU member," he said.

Kalla emphasized Syamsul remained innocent and had been acquitted of all charges by the Malang District Court in East Java.

"We have to base our decision on the presumption of innocence. We will still swear him in ... until a new verdict is issued by the high court," he said.

Syamsul was acquitted Thursday by the district court of all charges after the prosecution accused him of illegally distributing Rp 489.3 million allocated by Brawijaya University's Student Research Institute for the construction of a sugar factory in Malang to parties involved in the project.

The prosecution had earlier demanded the court sentence Syamsul to two years in prison, fine him Rp 50 million (US$5,494) and order him to pay Rp 489.3 million in compensation to the state.

Home Minister Mardiyanto said he would immediately report to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who is currently on an overseas trip.

He also said he would confirm with Syamsul his readiness to be sworn in as a KPU member.

The Malang Corruption Watch (MCW) urged the President and the House speaker not to swear in Syamsul as the district court's verdict was not yet legally binding.

The MCW, the Indonesian Judiciary Monitoring Commission (KPPI), the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) and the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute called on the Judicial Commission (KY) to question the presiding judge of the trial.

"We have submitted our request to the KY and expect within the next three days the commission will take action in the case," Zulkarnaen of the MCW said.

"We need to know whether the verdict contains political intervention or if the judge has a track record harmful to the public's justice," he added.

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