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.
Jokowi, Supreme Court slammed for showing leniency to corruption convicts
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s stance on corruption eradication has been called into question, particularly after a string of sentence remissions and clemency granted to corruption convicts, while the judicial system has also caused concern
Change Size
P
span>President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s stance on corruption eradication has been called into question, particularly after a string of sentence remissions and clemency granted to corruption convicts, while the judicial system has also caused concern.
On Oct. 25, Jokowi issued clemency to former Riau governor Annas Maamun, who was convicted for accepting bribes of Rp 1.5 billion (US$107,137) for a forest conversion that caused Rp 5 billion in state losses. The clemency was made on humanitarian grounds since Annas, now 79, is considered to be too old to live in a correctional facility and he is suffering from ill health.
The recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of former social affairs minister and Golkar Party politician Idrus Marham sparked public outrage as Idrus’ initial five-year sentence was reduced to two years. Idrus was found guilty of accepting Rp. 2.25 billion in bribes in return for granting the rights to develop the Riau-1 power plant.
The Supreme Court also acquitted on July 9 former chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) Syafruddin Arsyad Tumenggung of corruption charges. Syafruddin was previously found guilty by the Jakarta Corruption Court of absolving the owner of private lender BDNI Sjamsul Nursalim from repaying the government causing Rp. 4.58 trillion in state losses.
Gerindra Party spokesperson Habiburokhman said that granting sentence reduction and clemency was lawful.
"Prison sentences are under the court's judicial power. Other than that, a law and human rights ministerial regulation suggests leniency on humanitarian grounds for criminals aged above 70 years," he said during a discussion on discounted sentences for graft convicts on Sunday.
Habiburokhman also said that the President’s second term had just begun. According to him, checks and balances will be used to address the problem, and it is “unfair” to be pessimistic about the government’s commitment.
Saut Situmorang, a deputy chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), said clemency was actually a small problem that could be solved through an improvement in prison facilities.
"If health is the problem, then we should build health facilities in prison, not grant clemency," he said.
The cases of Annas, Idrus and Syafruddin were among the corruption cases that also raised the concern of antigraft watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW).
"The trend [of light prison sentences for corruption convicts] is no longer surprising. Corruption eradication efforts are nonsensical without a judicial system that produces a deterrence effect for perpetrators," ICW researcher Kurnia Ramadhan told The Jakarta Post.
According to ICW data, the average sentence for corruption convicts in 2018 was only two years and five months. The ICW also criticized the Supreme Court, the country’s top court, which released 101 corruption convicts who had been sentenced by lower courts during 2007-2018.
"Leniency on humanitarian grounds is not justifiable for extraordinary crimes such as corruption cases. The absence of clear parameters on humanitarian leniency has become the reason why there is a lack of faith in the justice system by society," Kurnia said.
Separately, the government said the country’s anticorruption strategy would focus on licensing, the state budget, bureaucratic reform and law enforcement efforts, according to Vice President Ma’ruf Amin on Monday.
The Vice President, accompanied by several ministers including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD and Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto, attended the International Anticorruption Day commemoration in the Corruption KPK building in South Jakarta.
“The President has instructed the government to focus on licensing and the public service sector in its corruption eradication efforts, including land registration services, public health services and education services,” Ma’ruf said.
Ma’ruf also said that the 2019/2020 National Strategy on Corruption Prevention (Stranas PK), which was established in July 2018 through Government Decree No.54/2018, would focus on licensing, budgeting and bureaucratic reform, and law enforcement efforts.
The Stranas PK is implemented by the National Team on Corruption Prevention, which consists of the KPK, the home minister, administrative and bureaucratic reform minister, the Presidential Office and the National Development Planning Ministry. (trn/mpr)
