SUMMARY:

On Thursday, April 16, the House of Representatives (DPR) confirmed Badrodin Haiti as the nation’s next National Police chief. The day began as Commission III, which overseas law, human rights and security affairs, convened confirmation hearings at 10 a.m. for Badrodin Haiti as National Police chief-nominee. In his prepared remarks, Haiti addressed a number of key issues, including a recent spate of violent motorcycle thefts, ISIS, narcotics, and relations with the Indonesian military (TNI). Specifically addressing the issue of corruption, Haiti pledged to create a special unit to prevent corruption within the police force, and to create a whistleblower system to help root out graft. Led by commission chair Azis Syamsudin (Golkar – Lampung 2) the hearing continued until roughly 12:30 p.m. when the 55 of the commission’s 57 members reportedly in attendance voted by acclimation to support Haiti’s candidacy for approval before a plenary session. Haiti expressed appreciation for the commission’s support and said, “I have a heavy task ahead and I hope that Commission III, as a partner, can provide oversight and input to improve the police’s performance in the future.” With the positive recommendation from Commission III, Haiti’s nomination was put to a floor vote without debate and accepted by acclimation at roughly 4:30 p.m. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he planned to inaugurate Badrodin Haiti on Friday, April 17.     

On Thursday, April 16, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) questioned PDI-P politician Adriansyah and PT Mitra Maju Sukses director Andrew Hidayat as witnesses against each other following their arrests in a KPK raid in Bali and Jakarta, respectively. The KPK suspects the alleged act of bribery captured during the operation was related to the procurement of coal mining licenses. KPK spokesman Priharsa Nugraha said on Wednesday, April 15, the case might also involve Adriansyah’s son Bambang Alamsyah, who succeeded his father and serves as the current regent of Tanah Laut, South Kalimantan.

On Thursday, April 16, the KPK also issued a summons for South Sumatra governor Alex Noerdin as a witness in its probe into allegations of corruption surrounding the construction of the athlete’s village for the 2011 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. This is the KPK’s second summons for Alex, who was unable to attend the first session due to international travel. The former head of the committee that oversaw the project, Rizal Abdullah, has been charged for corruption in the case. Rizal claims Alex was not involved, has emphatically denied that he was trying to protect the Golkar-affiliated governor. Former Democrat party treasurer and corruption convict Muhammad Nazaruddin alleged that Alex Noerdin accepted kickbacks in the graft-plagued construction project.

On Thursday, April 16, the head of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN) praised efforts to utilize online tools such as e-budgeting as a way of improving transparency and minimizing opportunities for corruption. Earlier this week, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) renewed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Public Procurement Agency (Lembaga Kebijakan Pengadaan Barang/Jasa Pemerintah – LKPP) to help expand public oversight over government purchases. Under the renewed MoU, which extends cooperation by an additional two years, ICW will continue to analyze and publish procurement data via the online portal OpenTender.net. The corruption watchdog group hopes that the online application will continue to be an effective mechanism to simultaneously increase public participation and minimize corruption of public finances.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

Monday, April 13 – Hadi Poernomo withdraws pre-trial motion

Monday, April 13 – South Jakarta District Court annuls pre-trial motion of Sutan Bhatoegana

Monday, April 13 – Jero Wacik skips first KPK summons in mining and natural resources case

Monday, April 13 – ICW renews MoU on government procurement data

Tuesday, April 14 – Police search offices of online payment gateway vendors

Tuesday, April 14 – Police postpone briefing on Budi Gunawan’s case after failure to coordinate with KPK, PPATK

Tuesday, April 14 – South Jakarta District Court rejects pre-trial motion of Suroso Atmo Martoyo

Wednesday, April 15 – DPR leaders visit home of Badrodin Haiti ahead of confirmation hearings

Thursday, April 16 – DPR confirms Badrodin Haiti as National Police chief

Thursday, April 16 – KPK questions PDI-P politician and businessman nabbed in raid

IMPLICATIONS:

With no time allotted for questions and answers, and the entire session closing in just over two hours, today’s confirmation hearing at Commission III amounted to a pro forma and largely ceremonial affair. According to Tempo, Commission III deputy chair Benny Kabur Harman (Democrat – East Nusa Tenggara 1) confirmed that he had leaked the list of questions to Haiti to address in his remarks ahead of today’s session, further undermining the seriousness of the process. Notably missing from the so-called “fit and proper” test was any question of the previous Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) report that indicated Badrodin Haiti had a number of suspicious financial transactions involving his personal bank accounts. Haiti’s comment that the cases facing inactive KPK Commissioners Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto were entirely in the hands of Budi Waseso as the head of the National Police Detectives Division (BARESKRIM) is cause for further concern. Though few expected today to be a serious exploration of Haiti’s qualifications and background, the entirely cosmetic nature of today’s proceedings was lamentable given the political trajectory of the last few months. Having said that, the appointment of Haiti as Head of Indonesia’s Police is a significant improvement over the previous candidate. The key question remains whether Haiti, now that the last obstacle toward his inauguration has been cleared, will be able to consolidate power, stop the blatantly political investigations against corruption fighters, and build positive relations with other law enforcement agencies, including the KPK.

Information as of 5:30 p.m. WIB, April 16, 2015