The ongoing titanic power struggle between the KPK, the AGO and the Police, together with the seemingly daily revelations of new and ever more sensational developments, hardly reflects well on Indonesia or on the prospects for the development of a civil society in Indonesia where everyone stands, more or less, equally before the law. It may be just possible, however, that some good will, ultimately, will come out of this astounding fiasco.
There are certainly signs that the KPK debacle could represent a watershed event in Indonesia's recent political history which, because of the evident magnitude of the public's anger, forces the government, perhaps reluctantly, to finally reign in and exert greater control over the AGO and the Police, which otherwise give every appearance of being substantially autonomous institutions, pursuing their own agendas and answerable to no one but themselves.
Certainly, the President, at least, seems to have recognized the seriousness of the situation by moving to appoint an independent fact-finding team (the so-called "Team 8") to investigate just what has really happened with the KPK. Hopefully, this move demonstrates not only the President's excellent political instincts (which no one could seriously question) but, also, his genuine and continuing commitment to doing something about Indonesia's endemic problem of corruption.
The litmus test of whether any long-term benefit to Indonesia results from the current events will surely be the performance of Team 8 and what the government does or does not do with its findings and recommendations. For the Team 8 "experiment" to be a counted a success, at least three things need to happen. First, the government must ensure that Team 8 has the terms of reference, the authority and the resources it requires to really get to the truth. Second, Team 8's findings and recommendations should be widely publicized. Third, the government needs to fully support and act forcefully on the basis of the findings and recommendations of Team 8 regardless of the inevitable loss of political capital this is likely to cause the Government in certain quarters. Anything less than this and Team 8 will surely be seen as just a politically expedient and cynical initiative on the part of the government, which is merely intended to buy it some time until public attention shifts elsewhere.
As has been the experience in other countries, the use of independent commissions of inquiry could be a very valuable initiative for Indonesia. Also, however, like the experience in other countries, whether this initiative realizes its potential in Indonesia's case all depends upon the sincerity of the government's motives in establishing Team 8 and its willingness to act on what Team 8 uncovers.
It is unlikely that the current government will ever again have such popular support to address the inherent problems manifest in the recent performance of the AGO and the Police. Team 8 could be a great opportunity for Indonesia and the harbinger of real and lasting reform, which will benefit all Indonesians. It is certainly always good to be optimistic in difficult times but, in this case, one definitely needs to see what actually happens with Team 8 before arriving at any firm conclusions as to whether it represents an actual opportunity for change or just a mirage.
William A. Sullivan
Jakarta
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