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Government responds to regional leaders' fear of the KPK
President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo has instructed Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung to immediately draft a circular, containing guidance for regional leaders on how to avoid activity that could lead to their becoming corruption suspects
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P
resident Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has instructed Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung to immediately draft a circular, containing guidance for regional leaders on how to avoid activity that could lead to their becoming corruption suspects.
'The point [of the circular] is to reassure that implementing policy will not be criminalized and advise that administrative problems can be solved with administrative solutions,' said Pramono as quoted by tempo.co, adding that it would be distributed to all regional administrations across the country.
The circular is in response to many regional leaders' fear of spending their regional budgets, a fear apparently evidenced by the decrease in the proportion of budgets being spent in recent years.
According to Pramono, a total of Rp 273 trillion (US$19.28 billion) of state funds, allocated to regional administrations, has not been spent due to leaders' fears of corruption charges. The Jakarta city administration, for example, has currently only spent 19 percent of its Rp 69 trillion budget for 2015.
Meanwhile smooth spending of state and regional budgets is currently badly needed to curb the economic slowdown.
'Pramono denied that the circular would encourage regional leaders to misuse state land because of perceived loose law enforcement. 'If there is any indication of the theft or embezzlement [of the state funds], the President will encourage prosecutors, police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to do their jobs,' said Pramono.
On Aug. 24, President Jokowi invited all governors, heads of prosecutors' offices, regional police heads and other law enforces to discuss the issue. During the meeting, there was an agreement that the administrative problems in budgetary spending would not be criminalized.
'During the meeting, there was a guarantee given for safeguarding regional leaders using their regional budgets. As long as they do not steal, they have a legal guarantee,' Pramono added.
Former Constitutional Court chairman Jimly Asshidiqie, however, said that corruption could start at the planning level. Therefore, he said, the public needs to be critical of the government decision to give protection to regional officials. 'I am concerned that many crimes are devised at the planning level, not just when the money is actually spent,' Jumly added. (bbn)(++++)
