http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/lifeandtimes/soft-heart-thick-skin-a-qa-with-the-kpks-abdullah-hehamahua/461715
Soft Heart, Thick Skin: A Q&A With the KPK's Abdullah Hehamahua Dewi Kurniawati | August 25, 2011 Abdullah Hehamahua recently called for the focus of graft-busting efforts to shift from policing to prevention via education. But he also advocates the death penalty for serious cases. (Antara Photo/Fanny Octavianus) No one, except those operating outside of the law, would sense danger when meeting the slight and soft-spoken 63-year-old Abdullah Hehamahua. The chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) ethics committee is all smiles in his batik shirt and peci hat. But his easygoing nature disappears when he starts talking about corruption, an endemic problem that he describes as “cancerous” and urgently needing amputation. Abdullah was thrust into the spotlight when graft suspect and former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin accused KPK leaders of corruption and being a “bunch of thieves.” But Abdullah said he wanted his beloved Indonesia to defy critics and prosper in decades to come, which can only be done without corruption. “Many people have started talking about Indonesia as a failed state these days, and I think if people want to see this country exist for another five decades, they should give their support to the KPK,” Abdullah said. The Maluku-born man, one of eight candidates still in the running for the four commissioner vacancies, used an essay submitted as part of the selection process to advocate a year of social work for corruptors in addition to their jail sentence, as well as the death penalty for severe corruption cases. “They will wear a shirt that says ‘I am a corruptor’ while cleaning public streets and gutters,” the father-of-four said. He is now among the top four candidates and will soon face a House of Representatives fit-and-proper test. The former activist, who led the Islamic Students Association (HMI), was jailed for 18 months during the Suharto regime after the 1974 Malari student protest and riots. When discussing the Democratic Party recently on “Jakarta Lawyers Club,” a television talk show, he jokingly asked “Democrats who,” sparking criticism from party members who accused him of belittling the political organization of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. When asked about this, Abdullah’s response was a hearty laugh. The Jakarta Globe recently spoke with Abdullah at his KPK office in Jakarta. How was your interview with the selection committee? One of the questions the committee asked was how I would handle lobbying if I were holding the KPK chairmanship. I assured them I would not allow anyone to lobby the KPK on graft cases. One of the KPK’s missions is to expose corruption for the benefit of citizens, but how is that possible to do when almost everyone is involved or connected in some way? If corruption eradication only involves arresting corruptors, then we would have to arrest a minimum of 60 percent of the four million civil servants, including politicians from the legislature, local government, regional leaders, et cetera. The problem with that is that we don’t have enough room in jail for everyone. That is why we should spend more energy on the prevention of corruption through education and promoting family values. We should also focus on the bureaucratic reforms that have been implemented since 2005. Those reforms include better quality human resources and compensation programs. Then the next big thing is to change the system, which is not easy. We did not change the system under 32 years of Suharto or after the reformation movement. People should know that dealing with corruption is very complicated. Corruptors attack or fight back against the KPK to varying extents. Why do you think that is? Those who react like that are people who are in trouble with the law. Corruptors fight back because they are guilty. Since 2005, there have been 11 instances of judicial reviews being filed against the KPK. Then there was the “cicak vs. buaya” saga [“gecko vs. crocodile,” in which the KPK pursued a member of the Indonesian police]. There are also death threats directed at KPK members. Despite establishing the KPK, former President Megawati Sukarnoputri created the release and discharge program, which made it possible to release corruptors from criminal charges. So you don’t find House Speaker Marzuki Alie’s proposal of eliminating the KPK unexpected? That is why I proposed the death sentence. Because we all know prisons can’t solve this problem. We still remember [convicted businesswoman] Artalyta Suryani, who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle during her time in prison, or [convicted taxman] Gayus Tambunan, who was able to bribe prison officials to leave jail periodically. Besides, prisons can be a way to transfer knowledge between inmates. Only a few who get out of jail are genuinely reformed, like Anton Medan [a former gambling tycoon who turned to religion]. People need to start realizing that corruption is worse than terrorism. It kills thousands slowly. Indonesians live in a wholesome and simple society; they need to see a good example. As head of the KPK ethics committee, how was the questioning session with KPK members accused by Nazaruddin ? There was no problem. The KPK ethics committee’s job is to find out the truth. If after the investigation we find violations, we should clearly determine if the violation is ethical or criminal. If it’s ethical, we would give sanctions, but if it’s criminal, we’ll hand it over to the courts of law. The process is not finished yet. We’ll decide after questioning Anas Urbaningrum [chairman of the Democratic Party]. You’re notorious now after the ‘Democrats who’ comment. How is the political support so far regarding your bid for the KPK chairmanship? [Laughs] Our task is to protect this process; other things don’t matter. I don’t want to think about it. Regarding political support, it’s up to members of the House of Representatives. Do they want to help fix this country or not? If not, we’ll witness this country sink, together. Now is the time or we won’t last until 2050. The public should know that since 2005 the KPK has returned more than Rp 7.8 trillion [$910 million] to state coffers from the uncovering of corruption cases. There should be political support for the KPK. How about support from HMI, your former organization? [Laughs] On the contrary, HMI is the one organization that fears me getting the KPK chairmanship the most. As their senior, it is my job to help them while I can, but I can’t help them later on in life. I would arrest my closest friends first, if they are guilty. I have put that into effect during my time in the KPK. The KPK has signed an MoU with the Defense Ministry to start cleaning up military institutions under the TNI. How is that progressing? Crime is the same when it’s carried out by a civilian or a military officer. We don’t discuss military ethics, just the crime. All we can do is give legal advice when asked. But I am someone who supports the idea of allowing military personnel to go on trial in a civilian court for criminal cases. All Indonesians should be treated the same when it comes to criminal violations. This is a legacy of the New Order era because at that time, the military was like a second God. So it will take some time for the process to take. People’s patience might run out though. We’ll get there eventually. The problem was that we had a late start. If only we had started after the reformation process, then we would have already done 13 years of work. But I am confident we’ll get there if we work together as a nation. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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