T

he government has decided to give ad hoc corruption judges a pay rise in an attempt to make them less vulnerable to committing the crime they are supposed to be resolving.

Under the new 2013 Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 5, which was signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Jan. 10, an ad hoc corruption judge in a lower court will receive a Rp 20.5 million (US$ 2123.25) allowance a month, a high court judge will receive Rp 25 million and an appellate court judge Rp 40 million.

Previously, an ad hoc corruption judge in a lower court received an allowance of Rp 13 million a month, whereas a high court judge would have received Rp 16 million a month and an appellate court judge Rp 22 million.

The Judicial Commission (KY), which along with the Supreme Court, the Finance Ministry, the State Secretariat and the Administrative Reforms Ministry, was involved in advocating for better salaries for judges, welcomed the new regulation.

“We expect this increase in allowance to improve the quality and integrity of the ad hoc judges,” commission spokesperson Asep Rahmat Fajar told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. “This is also a tool to prevent the recent misconduct by an ad hoc judge at a corruption court from happening again.”

Asep was referring to a recent case involving ad hoc Semarang Corruption Court judge Kartini Marpaung. She was caught by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in August last year as she accepted Rp 150 million (US$15,400) in cash to acquit Grobogan Legislative Council speaker M. Yaeni of graft charges. Yaeni was accused of embezzling regional budget funds for the maintenance of the council’s official cars.

Separately, the KPK said it applauded the government’s move, as it showed extra effort and a seriousness about combating corruption.

“We hope that in the future they [the ad hoc judges] will focus only on handling the case and not be tempted should there be bribes,” KPK spokesperson Johan Budi said on Wednesday.

The new regulation also stipulates that ad hoc judges at industrial relations district courts and appellate courts will receive increases in allowance of Rp 17.5 million and Rp 32.5 million a month respectively. Previously, they received lesser allowances of Rp 5.5 million and Rp 12 million a month respectively.

I Made Hendra, an ad hoc judge at the Jakarta Corruption Court who has been serving since 2004, was not pleased with the new regulation.

“They should’ve done this from the beginning,” he told the Post. “All we want is a decent pay as we’ve been struggling with cases all this time.”