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Indonesia Corruption Chief: No One Is Above the Law
Ezra Sihite & Markus Junianto Sihaloho | February 28, 2012

Corruption Eradication Commission chief Abraham Samad, left, talks to his deputy Bambang Widjojanto during a meeting with House Commission III in Jakarta on Monday. Antara Photo Corruption Eradication Commission chief Abraham Samad, left, talks to his deputy Bambang Widjojanto during a meeting with House Commission III in Jakarta on Monday. Antara Photo
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sutaniskandarmuda
10:59am Feb 28, 2012

Dr Samad is interesting. Of course, it's difficult to know who to trust, but for mine there's at least as much in his background, what he says, and the way he conducts himself to be some cause for hope as there is for concern.

I hope Dr Samad is for real - but, as I say, I'm not sure - and if he is, wish him well because he's now in one of the country's most dangerous jobs. He's today's rooster but, in doing the job (properly - - if that's his intent), needs to do everything he can to ensure he doesn't become tomorrow's fried chicken or feather duster as has been the case with a number of his predecessors.


RuleBritannia
9:37am Feb 28, 2012

Absolutely no one, no one who isn't employed by, related to or involved with government, police, military or religious affairs.


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The Corruption Eradication Commission head told lawmakers the organization is not afraid to declare a minister or political party chairman a suspect if there is sufficient evidence they are involved in graft.

In a hearing on Monday with House of Representatives Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, Abraham Samad, chairman of the organization known as the KPK, said the antigraft body would not discriminate among those involved in corruption.

He made the comment after lawmakers and journalists questioned when the organization would take action on several different corruption cases it has been investigating.

During the hearing, the KPK chairman fielded questions on whether several high-profile government figures — Anas Urbaningrum, the chairman of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party; Youth and Sports Affairs Minister Andi Mallarangeng; and Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar — would ever be declared suspects in various graft scandals.

“As long as we have two pieces of evidence, we will declare a minister or party chairman a suspect,” Abraham said. “Not even a president can stop us.”

Anas has been accused by several witnesses of receiving kickbacks from a graft case surrounding the construction of the Southeast Asian Games athletes’ village in Palembang. The party’s former treasurer, Muhammad Nazaruddin, and lawmaker Angelina Sondakh have already been named suspects by the KPK in the case, but Anas has not.

Andi, a Democratic Party senior official, has also been accused by several witnesses of receiving money in the same case.

Testifying at the trial last month, Mindo Rosalina Manulang, a former member of Nazaruddin’s staff, said he gave a total of Rp 20 billion ($2.2 million) to several officials to ensure the contracts to build the athletes’ village and the Hambalang Stadium in Bogor were awarded to construction firm Duta Graha Indah.

Part of the money, she alleged, was used by Andi during his campaign to be elected Democratic Party chairman in May 2010, a ballot he lost to Anas.

Andi denied all of the accusations during his testimony at the same court.

In another ongoing case, members of Muhaimin’s staff have mentioned him as being involved in a procurement scandal in his ministry.

One of the witnesses said during the trial that the minister asked for a 2 percent “commitment fee” for companies hoping to benefit from projects funded by the Manpower Ministry.

Abraham said that the KPK would not stop with Angelina, who was the last suspect to be formally named in the SEA Games scandal.

The KPK chief also denied speculation that a rift has emerged among the commission’s members, saying that they wanted to be careful in deciding when to name suspects.

“There’s no such thing as a crack among us. We have made decisions collectively. But that doesn’t mean we are slow,” he said.

The antigraft body, he noted, was not like a police chief or an attorney general, who could act on his or her own.

He said that in due course, both Angelina and former Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor Miranda Goeltom would be detained. The KPK wanted to make sure their dossiers were complete before detaining the suspects.

“We have not yet detained M.S.G. [Miranda] because we have not yet completed her dossier. Anybody who has been formally named a suspect will eventually be detained,” he said.

Miranda was named a suspect in the Rp 24 billion ($2.7 million) bribery scandal surrounding her appointment to a top post at the central bank.