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resident Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono and his Democratic Party will face an ugly battle in the lead up to the 2014 elections as politicians, led by the Golkar Party, will push new leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to pursue the controversial multibillion rupiah Bank Century bailout case.

The defeat of the Democratic Party at the hands of a coalition of Golkar, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and several of its party allies, leading to its failure to install its chosen contender to become KPK chairman, means the anticorruption body will be directed toward cases involving the ruling party, especially the 2008 Rp 6.7 trillion Century case.

While the case could lead to an impeachment process against Yu-dhoyono, many believe that it could be a significant political bargaining chip for Golkar, which succeeded in pushing for the election of Abraham Samad as KPK chairman at the House of Representatives’ selection last Friday, excluding the Democratic Party’s choice of Yunus Hussein to the commission’s top job.

Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie was quick to express his hope that the new KPK leaders would thoroughly investigate the Century bailout case following their recent selection.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) is due to release its report on the Century bailout on Dec. 20, but leaks from the report already suggest that there were irregularities in the disbursement of funds used to bail out the bank.

Teten Masduki, the secretary-general of Transparency International Indonesia, said there may have been House efforts to push the investigation of the Century case by voting for Abraham to become the KPK chairman.

“By selecting Abraham as chair, most of the House factions, not only the Golkar Party, will push for an investigation into the Century bailout case,” Teten told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview on Monday. “Abraham comes from outside Jakarta which means he has no connections or clique in government circles. I am afraid those political parties which voted him in may use their influence.”

In his fit and proper test with the House before he was elected as KPK head, Abraham vowed to complete investigations into major corruption cases, which he described as involving more than Rp 50 billion, vowing that he “would be deeply ashamed and thus resign as KPK chief if he could not resolve the major cases within a year”.

Asked by the lawmakers whether these cases would include the Century bailout case, he responded boldly: “If the Bank Century case complies [with the KPK’s criteria] and has strong evidence, I will investigate it,” Abraham said.

Besides Abraham, many believe that other new KPK members will align themselves with Golkar as the potential winner of the 2014 general elections.  

Achmad Basarah, a PDI-P lawmaker, said they would use the Century case as their major weapon.

“As soon as Abraham had been elected, it was interesting to see that ‘Ical’ [referring to Aburizal Bakrie] ordered Abraham to resolve the Bank Century case,” political observer Tjipta Lesmana from the University of Indonesia said on Monday.

Legal expert and former law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra suggested that the House’s working group submit a recommendation directly to the House plenary session to start Yudhoyono’s impeachment process based on the violations in disbursing the Century funds.

“The allegations are that the President and the Vice President [Boediono] committed serious violations against the state, including corruption and contravening their vows. This is a violation against the Constitution,” he said. Teten asserted, however, if the KPK gave in to pressure from the House to investigate the bailout case by probing Yudhoyono, Boediono and former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, it would be risky for the current KPK investigation.

“I’d say the KPK is not ready to investigate the case by trying to target Boediono and Sri Mulyani,” he said. “It would be better for the KPK to ignore any political pressure and start an investigation based on the BPK report.” (sat/rab)