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Issue of the day: Combative KPK chief see shorter tenures
In the spotlight: Suspended Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Abraham Samad is escorted by police officers after being interrogated at the South Sulawesi Police office
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span class="inline inline-center">In the spotlight: Suspended Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Abraham Samad is escorted by police officers after being interrogated at the South Sulawesi Police office. Abraham has been accused of abetting a woman, Feriani Lim, in falsely obtaining an identity card. Antara/Sahrul Manda Tikupadang
Feb. 27, p3
History has proven that two out of three sitting chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) have been forced to pay for their aggressiveness in the job and have not just been ousted from the antigraft body, but have also faced prosecution and in one case found guilty of murder.
The second KPK chief, Antasari Azhar, lost his position almost halfway through his four-year tenure. He was sent to prison for 18 years after being found guilty of masterminding the murder of a businessman. His tenure was expected to last until 2011.
The third chairman, Abraham Samad, recently lost his position after the police declared him a suspect in a document-forgery case. Among the three KPK leaders, Abraham had been the most aggressive and had enjoyed success, placing several big names behind bars, but he will not be able to finish his term in December due to his status as a suspect status.
Your comments:
Taufiequrachman Ruki was the head of KPK till 2007, how many runs on the board did the KPK achieve during his time? Abraham Samad, as rightfully stated, was the most aggressive during his time in KPK. This is unacceptable to the steal from the poor people of Indonesia. He must be congratulated on his achievements.
It is very clear that the new kids (or old) in the KPK have gone back to first gear on a number of cases. Bring back Abraham Samad and give him 10 years as head of KPK and see some real results.
LTB
I'm a little unsure about what the purpose of this piece is. It strikes me as somewhat conspiracy-theory-minded.
Was Antasari framed for the assassination because of his aggressive approach to anti-corruption?
The fact of the matter is, I don't think we are qualified nor have enough information to say with certainty about what exactly happened.
We only know that he's now in prison, unless there is evidence or some compelling analysis as to why Antasari was framed, and by whom.
I'm not trying to demonstrate empirically or rhetorically whether Antarasi was framed or not.
A Magpie
The case against Antasari was far from cut and dry. There were more questions than answers. There were witnesses who testified that he was framed.
In all countries upholding rule of law, you can only convict someone, more so for a major crime like murder, when facts against him showed that he was guilty beyond any reasonable doubt.
There were doubts, grave doubts ' circumstantial and evidential ' on the facts against Antasari. He would have been, in a 'normal' country, acquitted. The fact that you are not aware of the foregoing factors, or too lazy to find out, doesn't entitle you to comment as you did, sorry.
Wandering Star
Ruki had no controversies because he was gentle with the corruptors stealing from the mouths of the people. The KPK started under Megawati, but it was largely a toothless tiger then. The first thing Ruki did was to say he would 'pursue corruption less aggressively'. What does that amount to but a surrender to rampant corruption in Indonesia?
RIP KPK.
Lasem Benny
I agree with Zainal Arifin Muchtar (an antigraft activist). The current problem that we face lies with the status of 'suspect'. The KPK people were temporary relieved of their positions (according to KPK rules), but other suspects, i.e. Budi Gunawan and several members of the House were not relieved after being named a suspect (for the lack of such rules).
In my opinion the status 'suspect' should not lead to surrendering a post, since legally these people are just 'suspected' of doing something wrong and have not yet been proven to be wrong. However, if they are later found guilty of the alleged crime and hence sentenced, then they should be forced to resign immediately and any further pay (salary and so on) should be halted immediately. And this rule should apply for all people receiving pay from the government.
To make this work, of course a pretrial motion to reverse the status 'suspect' cannot be allowed.
However, if a 'suspect' is later on found to be not guilty of the alleged crime, then the person should have the right for compensation and have their name fully cleared. This would cause the parties declaring someone a 'suspect' to be very careful and will cause them not to use it to play some grander games or for revenge.
Devi Nesia
What if he was found not guilty because he gave the judges some 'compensation'?
Should his name be cleared? The problem is that now the Indonesian legal system is completely broken, perhaps irreparably so? The results of court cases cannot be relied upon to accurately reflect true justice, just expediency.
Terry McAsee
In Singapore, they have 'discreet' inquiries where a person can be investigated but no publicity is permitted. Once it's established that a person is 'suspect', that's it, the case proceeds otherwise the person is cleared and nobody is any wiser for it. Anyway, we shouldn't follow Singapore.
Pauloh
