Almost one month since its inception, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s ad hoc task force for the eradication of judicial corruption, aimed at helping accelerate the exposure of widespread corrupt judicial practices, has already sparked a showdown with high-profile figures with resources
to bend the law to their advantage. In a special report The Jakarta Post digs deeper into the issue. Here are the stories.
For the task force, the Jan. 10 crackdown on the luxurious cells of wealthy, high-profile convicts at the Pondok Bambu Women’s Detention Center was just the opening shot of a full-fledged war against seemingly untouchable judicial corruptors.
Artalyta Suryani, sentenced to five years for bribing a prosecutor; Limarita, sentenced to life imprisonment for drug trafficking; and three other wealthy inmates were caught red-handed by the task force in a surprise raid, living in luxurious rooms enjoying facilities comparable to that of a three-star hotel.
These inmates and the colluding wardens are among the task force’s first casualties in combating the systemic judicial corruption outside the courtroom.
A week after the crackdown, the task force took a shot at the notoriously graft-ridden police force over allegations of favoritism toward certain parties.
The allegations revolved around a possible omission by three mid-ranking officers who left Susandhi “Aan” Sukatma to be brutally abused by his superiors at Artha Graha Group headquarters in Jakarta on Dec. 14.
Susandhi is a former employee of PT Maritim Timur Jaya, a fishery subsidiary of Artha Graha Group — a business conglomerate controlled by politically wired tycoon Tomy Winata.
After the beating, Susandhi was arrested by police for the possession of an Ecstasy pill. Susandhi, however, insists he was set up on drug trafficking charges.
Susandhi, in police detention since Dec. 15, has recently reported the alleged abuse to the Jakarta Police and the officers’ complicity to the National Police’s internal affairs division.
Susandhi has alleged that former Golkar Party lawmaker Victor Bungtilu Laiskodat and his colleagues were among his attackers. Victor has vehemently denied the allegation.
Task force member Mas Achmad Santosa said recently the task force had already monitored the case as there was indication the police were being co-opted by certain individuals’ interests, hampering its function of serving the community.
“The alleged complicity by the police in such a crime may be enough to indicate judicial corruption,” he said.
The task force has also received reports a police general by the initials GM has not supported the omission investigation by the police’s internal division, according to statements made by task force secretary Denny Indrayana on Jan. 14.
“The task force will send a letter to the police chief to seriously investigate the matter,” said Denny, who is also a legal advisor to Yudhoyono.
The head of the police’s internal affairs division, Insp. Gen. Oegroseno, denied intervention by a senior general in the Susandhi case investigation. He said the results of the investigation will be announced within a week.
The Susandhi case, if eventually proven, as well as the luxurious cell scandal, are proof of judicial corruption, according to Mas Achmad.
“The judicial corruption covers transactional activities between law enforcers or judicial institutions and private citizens, not necessarily restricted to a case but also to certain interests,” he said.
Institutions within the judicial system include the police, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), civil servant departments attached to ministerial offices, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the Supreme Court, and penitentiaries and detention centers.
Since the KPK and the Supreme Court are independent of the government, they are not under the work coverage of the task force.
Yudhoyono formed the task force on Dec. 30 after mounting protests demanding the acceleration of the sluggish reform movements in the law enforcement and the judicial systems.
The task force, which will operate for two years, is under the auspices of the Presidential Work Unit for Development Monitoring and Control, which is headed by former reform-minded bureaucrat Kuntoro Mangkusubroto.
The task force has no enforcement authority, with its function limited to advising, monitoring and evaluating reform and supervision measures by all law enforcement institutions.
Should an institution fail to apply recommended measures, the task force will help the institution revise the measures, improve the human resource capacity and, if necessary, launch a string of crackdowns.
“Crackdowns are aimed at not only confirming the reality of judicial corruption but also at speeding up reform, gaining public support and changing the culture of the legal officers,” said Mas Achmad.
The task force, which is also headed by Kuntoro, will have regular quarterly reports with Yudhoyono, unless there is a crackdown, which it is required to report immediately.
The jurisdiction of the task force’s investigation includes all six levels of the judicial enforcement process; preliminary investigations, full investigations, prosecutions, courts of law, execution of court verdicts, and penitentiaries and detention centers. These levels, according to the task force, have been largely tainted with corruption.
Indonesia is among the world’s most corrupt countries, with its corruption perception index rank at 111 out of the 180 nations surveyed last year, according to Transparency International. Indonesia’s rank is below that of Malaysia, Thailand and India.
The business community has repeatedly claimed that corruption within judicial institutions is so ingrained that it discourages foreign investors from coming into the country and local entrepreneurs from starting up new businesses.
Foreign businessmen have also lamented Indonesia’s untouchable upper class, who often take the judicial system into their own hands, creating profound legal uncertainty when doing business in the country.
The task force, according to Mas Achmad, will prioritize the netting of such big fish as their networks have already permeated deep within the country’s legal framework.
“When netting these big shots, the task force is not seeing itself entering the dragon’s or the tiger’s
den. What we look for is the substance of the case, and our commitment to help eradicate such practices.” he said.
Facts about the judicial corruption task force
History
The President’s task force for eradication of judicial corruption was established on Dec. 30, 2009. It is attached to the Presidential Work Unit for Development Monitoring and Control (UKP4) headed by Kuntoro Mangkusubroto. The task force’s operations will run for two years.
Task force lineup
Chairman: Kuntoro Mangkusubroto
A former reform-minded bureaucrat previously serving as chairman of the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency. Served as the energy and mineral resources minister during the end of the Soeharto era.
Secretary: Denny Indrayana
Currently serving as legal advisor to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Denny previously worked as a lecturer at the Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Indonesia Islamic University and Muhammadiyah University — all in Yogyakarta. Denny gained attention while serving as director of UGM’s Center for Anti-Corruption Studies.
Members:
Mas Achmad Santosa. Previously served as former interim deputy chairman for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). He is currently serving as a top executive with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He is also a lecturer on environmental law at the University of Indonesia, and the founder of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL).
Yunus Husein. Chairman of the country’s money laundering watchdog, the Financial Transaction & Analysis Center. Yunus previously served as central bank career official.
Darmono. Deputy to the Attorney General. He is a career prosecutor with a previous posting as senior attorney for human resource development and monitoring.
Insp. Gen. Herman Effendi. An expert staff for the National Police chief. Herman gained popularity serving as deputy police chief for Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam where he consistently promoted the need for social work among people in villages.
Other key facts
• The task force has received over 200 reports related with judicial corruption.
• Members of the public can file reports to the task force through text message 9949 or by mail PO Box 9949 JKT 10000.
• Judicial corruption covers transactional practices and collusion between private citizens and the law enforcers who are dealing with a case. The corruption is not necessarily restricted to criminal cases but also covers favorable treatment for certain interests.
