Refleksi : Dirgahayu kaum manipulator! Hidup SBY dan konco-konconya!
http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/political-battle-brewing-over-bank-century-bailout-investigation/343914 November 26, 2009 Febriamy Hutapea & Muninggar Sri Saraswati Political Battle Brewing in Indonesia Over Bank Century Bailout Investigation A battle is already brewing within the House of Representatives to lead a special committee that will investigate the central government's controversial Rp 6.7 trillion ($717 million) bailout of PT Bank Century beginning next month. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling Democratic Party, which was initially against a House investigation, is trying to out-muscle the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the main opposition party, to choose who will chair the special committee. The party holding the chair can influence the scope of the investigation, including which witnesses are summoned to testify, and ultimately its outcome and recommendations. The Democrats agreed to form the committee following the release of a damning report on the Century bailout by the Supreme Audit Agency this week. They made it clear on Wednesday that they, as the largest party in the House, should select the chairperson. "We should follow the rules of the establishment of the special committee, that it should be proportional," said Marzuki Alie, the House speaker and Democratic Party secretary general. The composition of a House special committee is based on the number of seats each party holds, and the chairperson is selected by consensus among committee members. A special committee usually has 30 members. Democratic Party lawmaker Ruhut Sitompul said he also believed his party should lead the special committee. "We are greater in number, so the chairman is supposed to be from our [party]," he said. However, PDI-P secretary general Pramono Anung said his party should lead the committee because it initiated the petition among lawmakers requesting a House inquiry into the Century case. "We want the position given to the faction that initiated the move, including the PDI-P," he said. The state audit report, released on Monday, concluded that part of the bailout disbursement was effectively illegal, and that senior central bank and Finance Ministry officials had used quick, subjective judgments to conclude that Century's collapse would be a systemic threat to the country's financial system. There are rumors that the government ordered the bailout to protect deposits of high-profile bank customers, and that some of the bailout funds were diverted to Yudhoyono's re-election campaign. The government has emphatically denied the rumors. Vice President Boediono, speaking before the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club on Wednesday, reiterated that he welcomed the inquiry. "The facts of the case will come out. Everything that we did was needed." Boediono, Bank Indonesia governor at the time of the rescue, acknowledged there was suspicion, unrelated to the bailout, of criminal and political misuse of funds. "These are things that will be cleared up and should be cleared up," he said. Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Mukhamad Misbakhun, among the first to sign the petition for a probe, said the special committee leader must be supported by all factions. "It's not only about the quantity [of seats]. Otherwise, the spirit of the motion will fade away. The chairman must be someone from the faction that initiated it," he said. Pramono said he was confident the committee could reveal the money trail of the bailout, despite speculation that the Democratic Party did an about-face on a House investigation so it could use its majority to lead the committee and thus influence its work. "I believe that this matter is under a strong public spotlight, and I hope that no one dares to use this motion [for an investigation] as political leverage," Pramono said. +++++ http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/indonesian-corruption-fighters-ready-to-climb-back-in-the-saddle/343901 November 26, 2009 Camelia Pasandaran & Nivell Rayda Indonesian Corruption Fighters Ready to Climb Back in the Saddle The Constitutional Court on Wednesday ruled as unconstitutional an article in the 2002 Law on the Corruption Eradication Commission that required its chairpersons to be dismissed once they became defendants in court. "Article 32;1c of the 2002 law on the [commission] is conditionally unconstitutional," said Mahfud MD, the Constitutional Court's chief. "It should be interpreted that [commission] chairpersons should resign or be permanently dismissed only after they are convicted as guilty based on a final and legally binding court verdict." The demand for the judicial review on the law was filed by Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah, two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputies who were suspended from their positions after being named as suspects in a case of extortion and power abuse. The two plaintiffs claimed that they had been unfairly targeted and that the case against them had been fabricated by the police. The Constitutional Court ruling said the article concerned was against the principle of presumption of innocence, and that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guaranteed that people could only be declared guilty by a court ruling. Speaking to journalists outside the court, Mahfud said that one of the reasons for issuing the ruling was to keep the KPK strong and to prevent its leaders from becoming the victims of conspiracies. Commenting on the decision, Bibit and Chandra both told the press that they were ready to return to their duties at the KPK. "Yes, I'm ready," Bibit said. The two suspended deputies, however, said the court's ruling would not automatically mean their immediate return to the commission. "Our case has not been closed," Bibit said. "And there is no indication of how to solve it." Bibit said that Wednesday's court ruling would protect the KPK in the future. "The next KPK chairperson will be safe from easily being fired and criminalized," he said. "They won't experience what we have gone through." Topo Santoso, a legal analyst from the University of Indonesia, said the ruling would have a tremendous legal as well as psychological impact on the KPK members. "Based on the previous law, a KPK commissioner faced automatic dismissal once a case went to trial," he said. "This made commissioners very vulnerable to attempts at criminalization, as we have seen in Bibit and Chandra's case." "With the loophole closed, all of the members of the KPK, not just Bibit and Chandra, can now work at ease, knowing that they are protected." Wednesday's ruling, however, did not affect former KPK chief Antasari Azhar, who was permanently dismissed when he became a defendant in the murder of a state company director, Nasrudin Zulkarnaen. "The decision will have no implications for Antasari," Mahfud said. "When the ruling was issued at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Antasari had already been officially fired. He cannot claim anything from this ruling." Antasari's lawyer, Muhammad Assegaf, said he had also filed a motion with the Constitution Court in an effort to save his client's position at the KPK . "We submitted the request two weeks ago," Assegaf said. "We are confident that the court will make the same decision because the court saw the article as unconstitutional." KPK spokesman Johan Budi said Mas Achmad Santosa and Waluyo, the temporary replacements for Bibit and Chandra, welcomed the court's decision and were ready to step down from their positions as interim deputy commissioners. 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