TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
The week in review: Justice prevails in Gayus case?
The seven-year imprisonment and Rp 300 million (US$33,000) fine handed down by the South Jakarta District Court to graft convict Gayus H
Change Size
T
he seven-year imprisonment and Rp 300 million (US$33,000) fine handed down by the South Jakarta District Court to graft convict Gayus H. Tambunan on Wednesday were seen by many as defiance of the public’s sense of justice.
In fact, the much-anticipated verdict was much lighter than the prosecutors’ demands for a 20-year prison term and a Rp 500 million fine. Presiding judge Albertina Ho explained that the verdict was based on two charges; abetting tax evasion and bribing judges and police officers.
Those disappointed with the sentence attributed the lenient sentence to loopholes in the investigation process, faulty evidence and questionable legal proceedings. Many expressed concern that the sentence would only keep the mafia at the tax office and the courts untouched and similar cases would reoccur.
To spice up the anti-climactic finale, Gayus attacked the Presidential Judicial Mafia Taskforce, which persuaded the former low ranking tax official to surrender to the police last year. Gayus told a press conference that he had never told the taskforce that the billions of rupiah in his bank accounts came from the Bakrie Group, a conglomerate controlled by the family of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie. Gayus admitted, however, that he told taskforce members Denny Indrayana and Mas Achmad Santosa about assets worth Rp 50 billion he kept in his safety deposit box in Singapore, but did not disclose the source of the money. Gayus even said that Denny had promised to protect him.
Both Denny and Mas Achmad immediately fought back. Denny said: “I have data and information about this case. [Gayus’ statements] are totally not true.” Mas Achmad said the taskforce had never promised to arrange a light sentence for Gayus in exchange for his cooperation in unveiling corruption at the tax office and in the judiciary.
Gayus’ revelation of his “best kept secrets” apparently upset President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who two days before the verdict had issued a 12-point instruction to resolve the scandal. The instruction came nearly 10 months after the Gayus case came to the fore.
Among the President’s instructions was an order for an investigation into 149 companies whose tax obligations were reportedly manipulated by Gayus in exchange for bribes. Gayus had confessed to receiving cash from a number of companies that he helped settle tax obligations, including three coal mining firms partly owned by the Bakrie family.
In his list of instructions, Yudhoyono also assigned Vice President Boediono to cooperate with the taskforce in monitoring implementation of the policies by ministries and state institutions.
Legislators did not stand still after the verdict was handed down. House of Representatives deputy speaker Pramono Anung of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said lawmakers would summon Gayus and the taskforce members, especially Denny and Mas Achmad, to seek clarification regarding Gayus’ post-trial statements, including the issue of the alleged involvement of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the passport forgery and the reported role of high-level officials at the Directorate General of Taxation in the tax mafia.
Although the government insisted that it would not buy into Gayus’ claims, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the Indonesian and US governments would join forces in arresting John Jerome Grice, who Gayus said was a CIA agent. The National Police have requested Interpol issue a “red notice” to arrest Grice, who helped Gayus obtain passports he used to travel abroad several times despite his detention.
Also on Wednesday, Gayus’ former lawyer Haposan Hutagalung was sentenced to seven years in prison for corruption related to the Gayus case. He was found guilty of violating three articles in the 2001 Anticorruption Law.
Despite the bleak picture of the country’s legal system, there was still good news from Moody’s Investors Service, which on Wednesday raised Indonesia’s credit rating to “Ba1” from “Ba2” with a “stable” outlook, one step below investment grade.
Observers said Indonesia had deserved an “investment grade” ranking for the past few years, but factors apart from the economy such as rampant corruption and complicated bureaucracy have hampered a country credit rating upgrade. The central bank welcomed the upgrade and was upbeat Indonesia would attract more foreign direct investment. For the government, the upgrade was special because it was issued during a period of difficult economic times for many other countries.
Canadian-based Research In Motion (RIM) announced on Thursday that it was in the process of filtering pornography on its BlackBerry service in compliance with the Indonesian government’s demand.
RIM stated “the technical solution meets the Communications and Information Technology Ministry’s stated requirements and is designed to utilize the same standard filter lists provided by the government to the industry in Indonesia.”
From the sports field, soccer clubs competing in professional leagues will no longer receive funding from regional budgets. Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said Thursday his ministry would discuss the issue with the Youth and Sports Ministry. He said the regional budgets could be extended to amateur clubs only. The policy contradicts the government’s commitment to channeling Rp 50 billion to the national soccer team.
Opposition against the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) has continued with fans gathering in Jakarta to challenge the soccer body’s national congress in Bali, which started Friday. Many fear that the congress would only result in the re-election of PSSI chairman Nurdin Halid.
— Primastuti Handayani
