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“Article trading” is a real phenomenon, according to Indonesia Corruption Watch, which has come out in support of controversial comments made by Constitutional Court chief Mahfud M.D.

Mahfud has earned the ire of House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie with his comments that corruption in the House is to blame for the large number of poorly written laws that are eventually overturned on appeal in his court.

While Marzuki has dismissed the statements as political in nature, Mahfud is standing by his claims that lawmakers can be paid to alter legislation, a practice he calls “article trading.”

Since 2003, the Constitutional Court has declared 97 laws or articles to be void because they were found to be unconstitutional.

A deputy coordinator at Indonesia Corruption Watch, Emerson Junto, said the practice of lawmakers taking bribes to change clauses in draft legislation was impossible to deny.

“How can it be said to be untrue?” he said. “Just look at the case of the clause about tobacco in the Health Law. There was article trading there, to have one of the clauses dropped. That shows the practice does exist.”

He was referring to a clause declaring tobacco an addictive substance, which was put back into the law after a public outcry.

Emerson said buying and selling clauses in draft legislation opened up a new source of illicit income for crooked lawmakers.

“There are other ways for them to make money,” he said. “For example, during the appointment of public officials. They can enrich themselves from that.”

He said the numerous opportunities for graft provided some insight into how some lawmakers amassed such baffling wealth. “That’s what’s coming under the public spotlight at the moment,” he said.

The antigraft activist was speaking at a seminar about legal reform as a way to deal with the country’s problems.

During his speech, Emerson reminded participants of the statements Mahfud had made about why so many laws were found unconstitutional.

Mahfud had said: “It happens because of buying and selling by people with an interest in a particular law. That’s how laws end up being made with unconstitutional provisions, because they’ve been made for some private interest, not in the interests of the community.”

The Constitutional Court chief went on to say that the mentality, credibility and morality of public servants, including lawmakers, was poor.

While Marzuki took issue with Mahfud’s comments, some lawmakers said investigations should be opened to determine the truth of the judge’s claims.