JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia's graft-battling body has pledged to press ahead with its efforts to clean up corruption in Southeast Asia's largest economy, even as a spreading political scandal saps the popularity of Indonesia's president and threatens to derail the country's momentum on reform. The popularity of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has plummeted this year on the perception that he hasn't addressed allegations of corruption within his own party, according to polling and political analysts. The president won his second term in office with more than 60% of the popular vote in 2009 on the back of pledges to keep fighting corruption and to reform the giant archipelago nation's economy. From a high of close to 80%, his approval rating has fallen to less than 50% according to recent surveys. Much of voters' earlier optimism about their leader was a result of numerous high-profile cases brought by a new Corruption Eradication Commission, which didn't shy away from throwing judges, millionaires and members of Parliament into prison. More recently, however, even some fans of the commission worry it is losing momentum amid personnel changes and other problems. Critics charge the board may be not be fully investigating cases that could embarrass the ruling party. In an interview Monday with The Wall Street Journal, the commission's vice chairman said the board's enthusiasm for pursuing graft is unchanged--even as a ballooning bribery scandal threatens to engulf members of Mr. Yudhoyono's Democrat Party. œWe don't care about the Democrat Party, we don't care about the government,œ said Haryono Umar, the commission vice chairman. œWhenever we have the evidence, nobody can stop us.œ He declined to speak in detail about particulars of the case. Since it was started in 2004, the commission--known by its local acronym, KPK, here--has backed more than 300 cases against high-ranking officials and recovered billions of dollars in graft money. It seems to be launching raids, arrests and new investigations every week. The latest case, involving the country's ruling party, concerns facilities being built for the Southeast Asia Games this November, and has been dominating political discourse here for weeks. During the trial, which started last week, of people outside the party, prosecutors claimed there was bribery and collusion among contractors and government officials to rig bidding on a project to build part of the athlete's village. The former treasurer of the Democrat Party, Muhammad Nazaruddin, whom the commission has officially declared a key witness and suspect in its investigation, has fled the county, said Mr. Umar. Some observers criticize ruling-party officials for not ousting Mr. Nazaruddin from the party, despite public statements from the commission that it has evidence of his involvement in bringing together parties in the Southeast Asia Games scandal. Meanwhile, local newspapers and magazines have been publishing phone interviews with Mr. Nazaruddin, whose current whereabouts are unknown, in which he claims that he is innocent, and that other leading politicians are involved. Neither Mr. Nazaruddin nor his lawyer could be reached for comment. Sejauh ini, kami telah menemukan beberapa fakta menarik tentang
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Mr. Umar said although the public sometimes wants the Corruption Eradication Commission to work faster, and politicians sometimes want to slow it down, it doesn't respond to pressure and will only forward only on the cases it has the evidence to win. He added that there hasn't been pressure from the Democrat Party to delay the investigation against Mr. Nazaruddin. The Democrat Party has said that it isn't shying away from attacking corruption within its ranks, and that party leaders are scheduled to meet this weekend to announce measures to clean house and improve the party's image. œOur party's reputation is tarnished and that is reflected in the popularity surveys,œ said Achmad Mubarok, a member of the Democrat Party's advisory board Member. œBut ups and downs are natural in political life.œ More than just the future of the Democrat Party is stake in the KPK's corruption investigations, analysts say. Kickbacks, bribery and collusion are widely believed to take a big toll on the country's crucial efforts to build the new roads, ports and power plants it needs to keep its economy expanding. Mr. Umar said the commission's investigations have shown that as much as 40% of money slated for some government projects is stolen by corrupt officials. About 70% of the corruption cases his team looks into are connected to government contracts, he added. œThere are many, many cases connected to infrastructure,œ including the building of roads, the purchase of ferries and the building of bridges, he said. In the typical case, he said, a contractor with political connections, or a politician with a dummy contracting company, pays off government officials to rig and win a bid at an inflated price. They then subcontract the work to a different company for a much lower price and pocket the difference. The commission has received more than 50,000 complaints from the public since its start in 2004, and would like to chase after more corrupt officials, but there is only so much its staff of around 700 people can do, Mr. Umar said. It has tried to expand its staff but there aren't enough qualified candidates that can pass its strict interview process, he said. That process includes sending investigators to applicants' homes and offices to test their integrity and to prove they have never been involved with corrupt organizations in the past. When it tried to add 100 new employees last year it got 16,000 applicants, but hired only 44. To improve the country's infrastructure, as well as the government's approval rating, the commission needs more whistle-blowing private citizens, politicians, bureaucrats and company auditors to stand up against those that abuse their positions of power, he said. œWe need more employees, but what is most important is we need more friends-- friends in government and friends elsewhere,œ that can point us to the wrongdoers, he said.
Mr. Umar said although the public sometimes wants the Corruption Eradication Commission to work faster, and politicians sometimes want to slow it down, it doesn't respond to pressure and will only forward only on the cases it has the evidence to win. He added that there hasn't been pressure from the Democrat Party to delay the investigation against Mr. Nazaruddin. The Democrat Party has said that it isn't shying away from attacking corruption within its ranks, and that party leaders are scheduled to meet this weekend to announce measures to clean house and improve the party's image. œOur party's reputation is tarnished and that is reflected in the popularity surveys,œ said Achmad Mubarok, a member of the Democrat Party's advisory board Member. œBut ups and downs are natural in political life.œ More than just the future of the Democrat Party is stake in the KPK's corruption investigations, analysts say. Kickbacks, bribery and collusion are widely believed to take a big toll on the country's crucial efforts to build the new roads, ports and power plants it needs to keep its economy expanding. Mr. Umar said the commission's investigations have shown that as much as 40% of money slated for some government projects is stolen by corrupt officials. About 70% of the corruption cases his team looks into are connected to government contracts, he added. œThere are many, many cases connected to infrastructure,œ including the building of roads, the purchase of ferries and the building of bridges, he said. In the typical case, he said, a contractor with political connections, or a politician with a dummy contracting company, pays off government officials to rig and win a bid at an inflated price. They then subcontract the work to a different company for a much lower price and pocket the difference. The commission has received more than 50,000 complaints from the public since its start in 2004, and would like to chase after more corrupt officials, but there is only so much its staff of around 700 people can do, Mr. Umar said. It has tried to expand its staff but there aren't enough qualified candidates that can pass its strict interview process, he said. That process includes sending investigators to applicants' homes and offices to test their integrity and to prove they have never been involved with corrupt organizations in the past. When it tried to add 100 new employees last year it got 16,000 applicants, but hired only 44. To improve the country's infrastructure, as well as the government's approval rating, the commission needs more whistle-blowing private citizens, politicians, bureaucrats and company auditors to stand up against those that abuse their positions of power, he said. œWe need more employees, but what is most important is we need more friends-- friends in government and friends elsewhere,œ that can point us to the wrongdoers, he said.
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