The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) told Attorney General Hendarman Supandji to solve graft cases in many regions.
The council invited Hendarman here Wednesday to hear his response to the previous council’s letter about corruption cases.
“We found difficulties to meet the prosecutors in the regions to talk about this issue,” AD Khaly, a member of council, said in the hearing.
The council found many cases seemed “forgettable” and suspects went free without punishment.
The council mentioned in their letter seven serious corruption cases in Riau, East Nusa Tenggara, Gorontalo, North Sulawesi, Maluku, East Kalimantan and West Papua provinces.
For instance, corruption on the Bengkong road development project which involved embezzlement of Rp 2,933 billion (US$259.6 million) in Riau in 2006.
“Some corruption cases in North Sulawesi were still waiting for a presidential letter to continue the investigation, we also found a corruption indication for a sports facility in East Kalimantan in 2007,” one of the council members said.
According to Hendarman, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has to wait for the president’s permission to examine the suspect. “We do have procedures to follow,” he said.
The Council also asked why the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) could crush corruption better and faster than the AGO. They urged the AGO to do quicker investigations, particularly for cases which involved local leaders.
However Hendarman acknowledged that KPK had their special skills in ending corruption. “They do not need any permission. They can examine the suspect freely.”
He said he committed to due process all corruption cases in the country to meet justice for everyone.
“I have several plans to improve prosecutors’ credibility by improving their salary. Today, the operation of the prosecutors’ office was assisted by government. This is bad because it can influence their independence,” he added.
The council also complained about the arrogance of some region prosecutors.
Hendarman pointed out that these prosecutors had passed some heavy tests to prove they were reliable prosecutors. He promised to dismiss “bad” prosecutors.
“There were 200 prosecutors punished because they broke the rules. I try my best to crackdown on corruption,” he said.
He also mentioned about the small national budget allocation for the Attorney General made it hard to meet departmental needs.
“We just got Rp 1.9 trillion in 2009. This is smaller than the police department or the supreme court, which will get more than Rp 10 trillion,” he said.
This small budget allocation is a great obstacle in the fight against corruption. One case can cost Rp 15 million to Rp 20 million.
The AGO gets more than 150,000 cases every year. (naf)
