TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Govt, House agree to further discuss corruption-related articles on Criminal Code bill
Change Size
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto (left) and Foreign Deputy Minister AM Fachir (right) accompany President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in a press conference at the Bogor Palace, West Java, on Dec. 7, 2017. (Antara/Puspa Perwitasari)
T
he government and the House of Representatives have agreed to hold further discussions on corruption-related articles in the Criminal Code bill, following objections by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) that argued that a number of provisions in the bill could curtail its authority in eradicating corruption.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto led a meeting on Thursday to discuss the polemics. KPK commissioners, government officials and members of the House’s team that have been tasked with formulating the bill attended the meeting.
During the discussion, they acknowledged that several articles in the bill, including provisions related to extraordinary crimes and their sanctions, still needed to be further deliberated to overcome differences, Wiranto said.
“The Criminal Code revision doesn’t have any intention to weaken institutions tasked with handling extraordinary crimes, such as corruption, narcotics or terrorism,” Wiranto said.
(Read also: Criminal Code bill will not weaken KPK authorities: Minister)
The Criminal Code bill has included a number of corruption-related articles from the 2001 Corruption Law, including provisions about bribery and misuse of authority. Several articles in the bill carry lighter punishment for corruption compared to articles in the 2001 law.
Enny Nurbaningsih, who heads the government team tasked with formulating the Criminal Code bill, said relevant stakeholders would soon sit together to settle the differences, including the sanctions and terms of punishment for the core crimes of corruption stipulated in the bill.
She asserted that KPK authorities would remain intact since the antigraft body would still able to use the sanctions and punishment stipulated in the 2001 law, which is categorized as lex specialis (special law). (ebf)
