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Groups blast calls for an end to graft as `empty'
The ongoing election campaign period has seen political parties and candidates pledging to fight corruption, but they are really offering the public nothing more than empty promises, antigraft groups said Friday
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The ongoing election campaign period has seen political parties and candidates pledging to fight corruption, but they are really offering the public nothing more than empty promises, antigraft groups said Friday.
"By the end of 2008, the House of Representatives had only finished deliberating 162 of the total 290 bills. Three of the unfinished bills were related to fighting corruption," Indonesia Corruption Watch deputy coordinator Emerson Yuntho told a news conference.
Those bills, he added, were on the corruption court, the revision of the 2001 anticorruption law and another on asset confiscation.
Only the corruption court bill had been handed over to the House for deliberation, while the other two were still being drafted.
"This shows the lack of commitment on the part of the government, the House and political parties because they do not make these anticorruption bills priorities," Emerson said.
A similar criticism was lodged by M. Nur Sholikin from the Center for Legal and Policy Study (PSHK) at the same event.
Based on a study by the center, he said, the House had never met its target for finalizing laws.
"In the last few years the House has taken a 60:40 policy. Its legislative function is given a 60 percent *target*, while the remaining 40 percent is assigned to its monitoring and budgeting roles," he said.
Nur said he was pessimistic the House would finish deliberating the corruption court bill on time.
The Constitutional Court had ruled that a new Corruption Court law must be enacted by December 2009 or the existing court system will no longer be valid under law.
Emerson said the House usually made a legislation priority list based on five categories.
Those given first priority are the bills which are straightforward to approve, like a regional expansion bill, he said.
"These bills are more like a copy and paste of the draft," he said.
The bills given second priority are those related directly with the House's interests, such as the legislative election and presidential election laws.
The third are bills related to private sectors such as oil, energy and investment, followed by those indirectly related to the House's interests such as the Supreme Court law.
Finally, bills regarding public interest such as those on the corruption court, freedom of information and witness protection are given last priority.
Emerson said any attempt at passing a law that could threaten the credibility or existence of lawmakers and politicians would never be made a top priority.
"That is why we doubt the House's commitment *to eradicate corruption*," he said, adding that the corruption court bill was "in a coma".
"They *legislators* are not interested in finishing the bill any time in the near future when many House members have been arrested and tried at the Corruption Court," Emerson said.
So far there have been eight legislators and former legislators tried or sentenced by the court for corruption in separate cases.
Among the convicted lawmakers were Saleh Djasit, Noor Adenan Razak, Hamka Yandhu and Anthony Zeidra Abidin - all from the Golkar Party.
Other convicted legislators include Al Amin Nur Nasution from the United Development Party (PPP), Sarjan Tahir from the Democratic Party and Bulyan Royan from the Star Reform Party (PBR).
"It is not surprising we are worried that the House's aversion of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Corruption Court could end up reflecting in its policy," said Emerson.
