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Prison reform remains a distant dream
Handoyo Sudrajat - JP/AwoOnce touted as a credible figure to reform the countryâs graft-ridden correctional system, Handoyo Sudrajat, a former deputy at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), has resigned from his position as director general for corrections at the Law and Human Rights Ministry, following the revelation that drug convicts have continued to run their businesses from behind bars
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Handoyo Sudrajat - JP/Awo
Once touted as a credible figure to reform the country's graft-ridden correctional system, Handoyo Sudrajat, a former deputy at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), has resigned from his position as director general for corrections at the Law and Human Rights Ministry, following the revelation that drug convicts have continued to run their businesses from behind bars.
Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly appointed on Tuesday one of his expert staff, Ma'mun, as acting director general for corrections.
Handoyo, who had served as director general for corrections since November 2013, has expressed his disappointed over the many stumbling blocks his ideas and plans to reform the country's correction system had faced.
The former deputy for prevention at the KPK who earned his reputation as a state auditor at the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP), acknowledged that his hopes remained high during the 2014 presidential election.
He had expected the new administration to carry out his plans for major reform in the country's graft-infested correctional system.
'But as you can see, many problems persisted,' Handoyo said on Thursday.
Although he was not convinced that the government could do much to reform how the country's prisons were run, he remained optimistic.
'If I was optimistic, I would have not resigned,' he said. 'But inside my heart, I still have hope. My resignation is a way for me to take responsibility for my failures.'
One of his ideas was a proposal to separate the correctional directorate general from the ministry and transform it into a new independent body called the National Correctional Body (Bapasnas).
'My idea was to put this body directly under the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister,' Handoyo said.
Handoyo said that under the current system, the correctional directorate general had often failed to execute many policies and plans because all of them were subject to the approval of the minister and ministry's secretary-general.
'I was frequently powerless when rotating officials under my directorate general,' he said.
If all corrections-related functions at the ministry were transferred to an independent body, he said, it would also boost effectiveness in coordinating with the KPK, National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) and National Narcotics Agency (BNN) 'because we deal with high-profile terrorists, drugs and corruption convicts on a daily basis'.
He said he had delivered the proposal to Yasonna's predecessor, Amir Syamsuddin, but there was no follow-up.
Handoyo said that during last year's political campaign season, he had also delivered a presentation on his proposals to the campaign team of then presidential candidate Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo led by Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) executive Hasto Kristiyanto.
'But there is no sign whatsoever that Jokowi will adopt my proposal,' he said.
Handoyo said that his other plans also hit a wall, including a salary increase for wardens and other prison officials, prison guard increase and expediting budget disbursement for his office.
'Many programs failed to launch due to budget issues. For instance, the memorandum of understanding [MoU] with the Indonesian Military [TNI] couldn't go ahead as the budget had yet to be approved,' Handoyo said. He was referring to the MoU between the ministry and TNI signed on April 2 to assign retired soldiers as additional prison officers, grant weapons for security purposes and build army outposts on Nusakambangan prison island.
Yasonna said that some of Handoyo's plans carried their own complications.
'Such a new body would need a new law as the legal umbrella,' he said.
The minister also said that Handoyo had not been open about his resignation.
'He did not mention the reasons in his resignation letter,' Yasonna said.
Indonesia has 452 penitentiaries and detention centers. Almost all of them are operating at overcapacity with one guard to every 50 prisoners against the ideal ratio of one to five.
