Thanks to his generosity, many corruption convicts have walked free after they have served three-quarters of their equally stunningly short prison terms in view of the billions, or even trillions, of rupiah in taxpayer’ money they had looted.

You may imagine they breezed out of their prison cells humming a happy tune, with a big smile on their face, or letting tears of joy stream down their cheeks. The President gave them a perfect Independence Day gift, as the pardon and remissions are given as a part of the national day celebration.

Oh, and the Idul Fitri holiday is around the corner, too, and those still serving time can expect another round of remissions, which can be as generous as six months — enough to release crooks who had received light sentences of four years or less.

In fact, all forms of prison, term deductions are comparable to the holiday sales, when capitalists try to rake in as much money as possible from the large quantity of merchandise they can sell, albeit at lower prices.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar, who was showered with praises earlier this year for advocating the death sentence for graft convicts, now insists that keeping critically ill prisoners, such as former regent of the resource-rich Kutai Kartanegara, Syaukani Hasan Rais, in prison would amount to a violation of human rights.

He says if anyone could prove that the fabulously rich Syaukani, who was found guilty in a corruption case which incured state losses of Rp 103.5 billion (US$11.5 million), had faked his illness, he would have his presidential pardon reviewed.

The best-known figure who walked free thanks to the generous remmissions is undoubtedly Aulia Pohan, who was imprisoned along with several other former Bank Indonesia senior officials — who also enjoyed remissions — for misappropriating funds of Rp 100 billion.

His remission and immediate release has been associated with the fact that he is the father-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s eldest son Agus Harimurti. Aulia’s holiday gift has seriously undermined public trust in Yudhoyono’s pledge to fight corruption in high places.

His arrest and subsequent conviction had won Yudhoyono international acknowledgement for his antigraft crusade, but the remissions have made his pledge sound somewhat hollow.

Not only do the prison-term deductions deeply offend the public’s sense of justice, but they have also dumbfounded the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which feels its toiling to catch state thieves has been poorly appreciated by the government.

Now is time for Yudhoyono to heed calls for a review of the 2006 government regulation on remissions. The regulation has to be either revised or dropped altogether.

The main reason for the public protest at the remissions and presidential pardons, especially for graft convicts, is the lack of transparency regarding why those convicted of corruption and big-time criminals are accorded multiple remissions that allow them freedom so soon.

The “good attitude”, or “outstanding service”, a convict demonstrates during detention that government officials always cite as the reason for pardons is just too vague and often translated as the “prisoners’ generosity to pay officials”.  

It’s a public secret that graft convicts, like other wealthy prisoners, receive privileges. Lest you forget, businesswoman Artalyta Suryani, who was sentenced to five years in 2008 for bribery, was accorded a luxury room at the notoriously crowded Pondok Bambu Women’s Penitentiary in East Jakarta.

Members of the presidential judicial mafia taskforce, who paid a surprise visit, found she had all the amenities that an entepreneur has at home, a scandal that cost the chief warden his position.

Remissions and presidential pardons that the government generously offers are obviously inconsistent with the government’s own conviction that corruption, like terrorism, is an extraordinary crime, which should be dealt with with extraordinary measures.

Could it be that the administration has forgotten the KPK was established in 2002 for just this
purpose?

Remissions and presidential pardons are just one of the worrying signs that President Yudhoyono is giving up his fight against corruption.

He is yet to give an adequate response to a host of problems, such as senior police officers’ suspiciously enormous bank accounts, as reported by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, and the various maneuvers to strip the KPK of its key powers.

Popular

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Analysis: Indonesia denies normalization with Israel to enter OECD

Citroen to produce electric cars in Indonesia