http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/06/2008619113153592968.html
UPDATED ON:
Thursday, June 19, 2008
18:11 Mecca time, 15:11 GMT
Anti-graft body in Indonesia scam
There is mounting pressure to sack the
anti-corruption chief [AFP]
Indonesia's corruption watchdog has itself become embroiled in a bribery
scandal with half of the top prosecutors in the attorney-general's department
under investigation.
Indonesia ranks as one of the world's most corrupt countries and the case has
become a major embarrassment for the country's law enforcement efforts.
The attorney-general's department was found to be involved in a web of bribes
and abuse of power.
An investigation in the customs department has also led to the seizure of
thousands of dollars in bribe money.
The cases came to light after Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Indonesian
president, vowed to use "shock therapy" to break the hold of corruption on the
country's bureaucracy ahead of elections next year.
The recent allegations against top government agencies have led to calls for
Hendarman Supandji, the attorney general, to resign.
Bribery allegations
He has denied any involvement in the scandal that has rocked his department
after a senior prosecutor, Urip Tri Gunawan, was arrested for allegedly
accepting a $660,000 bribe from a businesswoman.
Artalyta Suryani, the woman involved, was caught on camera giving Gunawan a
cardboard box containing the cash.
She has since claimed the money was a loan and not a bribe.
Yudhoyono is pushing to clean up government agencies [GALLO/GETTY]
Two days earlier the attorney-general's department had dropped a $70bn
corruption case involving Suryani's employer.
Several senior prosecutors have also been implicated in the allegations backed
by taped conversations the commission released during the corruption trial.
Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen said the allegations were a major setback for
Yudhoyono's anti-corruption drive and have forced the attorney-general's office
to take steps to repair its image.
Remedial steps
Bonaventura Nainggolan, a spokesman for the attorney-general's department, said
prosecutors will no longer be allowed to meet guests whose cases they are
handling.
"We have installed surveillance cameras so we can check if people are coming to
meet the relevant prosecutors," he told Al Jazeera, adding that 25 prosecutors
who were performing poorly will be replaced.
But for anti-corruption activists the changes do not go far enough.
Emerso Yuntho of Corruption Watch said he wants to see Indonesia's top lawyer
be sacked.
"The president has no choice," he told Al Jazeera.
"He has to fire the attorney general because he failed to clean up his
institution and he doesn't seem to be taking any quick action to solve the
current crisis."
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