President seeks to settle out of court

The President is set to announce his ruling on the dispute between the Corruption Eradication Commission and the National Police on Monday, going for an out of court settlement.

“I have made up my mind and it will be disclosed tomorrow (Monday),” Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told media editors at the State Palace on Sunday night.

He declined to state exactly what his ruling will be except to say that it will be an out of court settlement.

“It will be controversial, it will have consequences, but it’s a risk that I have to take,” he said, adding that “the ruling will be just.”

The National Police and Attorney General’s Office have been locked in a fierce battle with the KPK, over a corruption investigation against two of its deputies, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, suspended from their jobs pending legal processes.

Following public outcry, Yudhoyono set up the “Team of Eight”, made up mostly of highly respected figures, to check the credibility of the police investigation against Bibit and Chandra.

The team last week submitted its report after two weeks of investigation, recommending that the President order the case to be dropped.

“I don’t want this disharmony between the KPK, the National Police and AGO to be permanent. This has got to stop,” Yudhoyono said.