R

ecent female figures named corruption suspects have broken the long-established assumption that women are less corrupt than men due to women’s compassion and tendency to avoid crime.

“Women’s access to power and the public arena has just been opened. With such access, we can see women can also be corrupt,” Ani Widyani Soetjipto, an expert staff member from the Women’s Empowerment Movement, told The Jakarta Post recently. “Corruption has no gender dimension. Everyone can be corrupt.”

A corruption allegation linked to Democratic Party politician Muhammad Nazaruddin, has dragged a businesswoman allegedly to be a go-between in the Youth and Sports Ministry-commissioned construction project of an athletes’ dormitory in Palembang, South Sumatra, for the next SEA Games.

Mindo Rosalina Manulang has been named suspect in the case following her arrest, along with PT Duta Graha Indah (DGI) marketing director Muhammad El Idris and Youth and Sports Ministry’s secretary Wafid Muharram, on April 21 at the ministry office after El Idris gave a check worth Rp 3.2 billion (US$374,400) to Wafid. DGI won the project bid.

In an upturn, on Wednesday, the KPK grilled Rosa for another case linked to Nazaruddin’s wife, Neneng Sri Wahyuni, who failed to answer the KPK’s summon last week. Neneng is believed to be in Singapore accompanying Nazaruddin, who claimed to get medical treatment there.

Rosa was questioned for two hours on Wednesday on an alleged illegal solar power procurement project at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry in 2008.

Rosa, who reportedly befriended many lawmakers, neither confirmed nor denied her role as “projects broker”, as well as her acquaintance with both Neneng and Nazaruddin.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said KPK investigators questioned Rosa because they believed Rosa, and Neneng, were “affiliated” with a company in the solar power project.

Another female graft suspect in news headlines is businesswoman Nunun Nurbaeti. The fugitive fled the country to Singapore to receive medical treatment for her “severe forgetfulness” last year. Alleged middlewoman Nunun is suspected to have distributed bribes to dozens of former and current lawmakers in the vote-buying case of Miranda S. Goeltom election as 2004 central bank senior deputy governor. Nunun is known as a powerful businesswoman.

The case has also put three female former lawmakers: Engelina Pattiasina, Ni Luh Mariani Tirtasari and Budiningsih of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, on trial. Before Nunun, the woman in the news was former convict businesswoman Artalyta “Ayin” Suryani.

In 2008, Artalyta was sent to five years in prison for bribing public prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan in exchange for information from Urip on the progress of the investigation of alleged embezzlement of Bank Indonesia liquidity support funds against tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim who is Artalyta’s associate.

An impromptu visit in January of last year by the Judicial Mafia Taskforce to the Pondok Bambu Penitentiary in East Jakarta where Artalyta was imprisoned led to the discovery that she had been enjoying special treatment during her imprisonment: An air-conditioned room with a karaoke set and a personal assistant. She was released on parole early this year “for good behavior”.

In the case of a seaport development project, a Transportation Ministry female official Darmawati Dareho was put behind bars for her role as a go-between channeling Rp 3 billion in bribes from businessman Hontjo Kurniawan to the House’s budget committee member, former National Mandate Party (PAN) legislator Abdul Hadi Djamal, to ensure the House would approve his company’s bid.

Darmawati was convicted to three years in jail.

The media reported in 2008 that businesswoman Vonnie Anneke Panambunan was sent to 18 months in prison for corruption centering on the construction of the Loa Kulu airport in East Kalimantan.

In the same year, official Margareth Elisabeth Tutuarima at the Central Java maritime and fisheries agency was sentenced to six years in prison.

Ani Soetjipto said sometimes women were not the real actors of corruption and more likely victims of male orchestration. However, others were actors just like their male counterparts. “Morals do not have anything to do with gender,” she said.