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Illegal levies task force vows to create deterrents for civil servants
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National Police officers string up a police line on Oct. 11 in a room on the sixth floor of the Transportation Ministry where ministry officials were suspected of charging illegal levies. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he newly inaugurated illegal levies eradication task force is vowing to assist public institutions to impose severe punishments on officials found guilty of committing the rampant practice to satisfy the government's intensifying will to curb it.
The task force, established under the Office of the Coordinating Politics, Security and Legal Affairs Minister, is set to deliver recommendations on whether reported public officials should receive judicial or administrative sanctions if proven guilty of misconduct, task force chief and National Police's general supervision inspectorate Comr. Gen. Dwi Priyatno said on Friday.
“We will recommend [the forms of punishments], such as ethical sanctions for guilty officers that should be followed up by existing legal procedures,” he said, adding that when necessary the task force would exercise its authority to conduct raids on officials.
The mechanisms of the sanctions would also depend on regulations embodied in the relevant institutions. Dwi cited as an example the National Police, which imposed ethical sanctions on and dismissed personnel who committed the illicit practices.
The task force, inaugurated by Minister Wiranto, consists of 228 personnel from various ministries and security agencies, including the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Ministry, the National Police, the Home Affairs Ministry, the Attorney General’s Office, the Law and Human Rights Ministry, the Indonesian Military and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center. The task force is set to operate for six months before being evaluated, Dwi added.
The eradication of illegal levies is one of the five priorities set out in the government's planned law reform package in order to improve legal certainty and public trust in the country. (rin)
