SUMMARY:

On Tuesday, March 10, continued calls came from prominent civil society groups for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to put an end to the National Police’s campaign against the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and its supporters. Saldi Isra, professor of law and government at Universitas Andalas, claimed further inaction in the face of current police behavior threatened to undermine civilian control over the police force and to undo the hard-fought democratic reforms that had been achieved since 1998. The president’s independent advisory team, the so-called Team of Nine, added to those calls during a meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla at the State Palace on Tuesday, March 10. The meeting resulted in a renewed agreement that the KPK must be saved in order to combat corruption, but fell short of earlier prodding from the head of the Team of Nine for Jokowi to fire National Police Detectives Unit Director Budi Waseso for leading the charge against the KPK and its supporters. Kalla has faced public criticism for his perceived approval of the prosecution of former deputy Law and Human Rights minister Denny Indrayana and former Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) director Yunus Husein. Following the meeting on Tuesday evening, Kalla reiterated that criminal investigations should be allowed to proceed and that pre-trial motions were an effective legal mechanism to prevent criminalization. Jokowi was unable to attend the meeting as he was in Aceh promoting his “Let’s Work” movement.

On Wednesday, March 11, the National Police’s Victor Simanjuntak announced that in addition to inactive KPK Vice Chair Bambang Widjojanto, three additional suspects had been charged in the case stemming from allegations the anti-graft official compelled a witness in a 2010 local election dispute to commit perjury. One suspect was identified as Zulfahmi Arsyad, who allegedly helped to select and coerce the witness. Two more suspects were identified by their initials “S” and “P”, though their alleged roles in the case were not elaborated upon. Legal counsel for Bambang said he would appear at the National Police headquarters today, Wednesday, March 11, to deny he had any relationship to the suspects or knowledge of their alleged connections to the case.

On Tuesday, March 10, the dean of the Legal Faculty at Universitas Gadja Mada (UGM), Muhammad Hawin, said the campus would help to defend Denny Indrayana against allegations that the online payment gateway he instituted during his tenure as deputy Law and Human Rights minister had caused state losses and therefore constituted corruption. Hawin said that four lawyers from the department’s legal consultation and assistance division would help to supplement Denny’s legal team, and that they hoped the case would be resolved quickly as they were certain of his innocence. The director of UGM’s Center for Anti-Corruption Studies, Zainal Arifin Mochtar, said on Wednesday, March 11, that the online payment gateway had been a breakthrough in the application of technology for the improvement of public services. The nominal processing fees collected by vendors who supported the system, he said, should be viewed through the lens of a public-private partnership rather than as an act of corruption.  

In the evening of Tuesday, March 10, Jimly Asshidiqie of the Team of Nine met with the commissioners of the the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and acting National Police Chief Badrodin Haiti. Jimly said the National Police’s subpoena against Komnas HAM Commissioners lacked a clear complaint and contained a number of procedural errors. On Wednesday, March 11, National Information Commission (KIP) Chairman Rumadi Ahmad went further in saying the National Police’s subpoena against the human rights body threatened the public’s right to information. Rumadi said that the rights body’s report, which found serious legal and procedural violations in the arrest of Bambang Widjojanto, was categorized as information that should be readily available to the public, and was not protected as a state secret.

After earlier backing down on Monday, March 9, members of the Jakarta City Council reported Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama to the National Police on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 11. Representing the council members, Razman Arief Nasution – who also represented Budi Gunawan during his pre-trial hearings – reported Ahok for defamation, abuse of authority and falsifying documents.  Among the council members filing the complaint was deputy speaker Abraham “Haji Lulung” Lunggana. Lulung’s outbursts last week, during the Home Affairs Ministry’s attempt to mediate the conflict between Ahok and the city council, have become an internet sensation, with the sarcastic Twitter hashtag #SaveHajiLulung briefly becoming the instant blog service’s number-one trending topic on March 7.  

On Wednesday, March 11, the Judicial Commission heard from Budi Gunawan's pre-trial lawyer, Maqdir Ismail, as part of its inquiry into whether South Jakarta District Court judge Sarpin Rizaldi committed ethical violations in his handling of the proceedings. Maqdir denied knowing why Sarpin had been selected as the judge for the case, and downplayed speculation that any manipulation of the judicial assignment had occurred, saying that his client’s previous motion had been withdrawn before being notified of the judge assigned to the case.

On Tuesday, March 10, the KPK announced it had charged staff of the Jakarta Futures Exchange (BBJ) for their roles in a scheme to obtain permits for a trading company to enter the market. Executive BBJ Director Muhammad Bihar Sakti Wibowo, as well as BBJ shareholders Hassan Widjaja and Sherman Rana Krisna are accused of paying Syahrul Raja Sampurnajaya Rp 7 billion in bribes to obtain permits for PT Indokliring Internasional. Syahrul, the former head of the BBJ oversight body Bappebti, has already been convicted and sentenced to 8 years in prison.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

Friday, March 6 – National Police question Denny Indrayana regarding online payment gateway

Friday, March 6 – National Police promote controversial figure to handle Bambang Widjojanto’s investigation

Friday, March 6 – Following Press Council’s lead, National Police drop Tempo magazine investigation

Friday, March 6 – Komnas HAM Commissioners reported to National Police for exceeding authority

Monday, March 9 – Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo proposes dramatic increase in public spending on political parties

Monday, March 9 – Jakarta Corruption Court finds couple guilty in election bribery scandal involving Akil

Tuesday, March 10 – KPK asks Ahok for supporting information on budget mark-ups

Tuesday, March 10 – Team of Nine meet with Vice President Jusuf Kalla

Tuesday, March 10 – Jimly Asshidiqie of Team of Nine meets with Komnas HAM commissioners

Wednesday, March 11 – Ahok reported to National Police

IMPLICATIONS:

Following the meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla, the head of the Team of Nine, Ahmad Syafii Maarif, displayed a surprising shift in tone on Tuesday, March 10, in calling for higher salaries for police. Over the weekend, Maarif had come out in strong favor of the KPK and its supporters, and called for a swift end to what he saw as the police’s continued disobedience of a direct presidential order to stop its dubious investigations. Discussing a potential salary increase at this point in time sends a signal of tacit approval for the National Police’s dogged pursuit of perjury charges against Bambang Widjojanto and spurious accusations that Komnas HAM’s report had damaged its good name.

The active involvement of UGM’s law faculty in the defense of its alumnus Denny Indrayana is a welcome development, not only for the legal advice it will contribute, but also for the political statement it sends. Since the 1997 protests, which forced strongman leader Suharto to relinquish his 32-year grip on political power, many outside observers have commented that student politics have settled into a rut of complacency. While occasional protests have emerged from campuses across the country from time to time, they have largely been of a more chaotic and occasionally violent nature. Involvement in the legal defense of a high-profile figure is a productive means of making a point in the current political climate, and simultaneously offers valuable hands-on research experience for the next generation of the country’s legal minds.

Similarly, the principled position taken by the KIP – that Komnas HAM’s report falls within the bounds of the public’s right to information – is another welcome development in the conflict between the National Police and the KPK. Though the institution was only created in 2010, it takes its mandate seriously and is showing a willingness to defend the value of transparency when it comes under threat.

The decision by the Purwokerto District Court on Tuesday, March 10, which ruled that a corruption suspect’s status was not a matter for a pre-trial hearing, emerged as a possible turning point in the legal community’s outcry against what has been described as the Sarpin effect. Vice President Jusuf Kalla’s statement that pre-trial motions constituted a valid tool to combat criminalization breathes new life into what the legal community has roundly denounced as a legal loophole that threatens to undermine criminal prosecutions and overwhelm an already overburdened judicial system with additional hearings.

The KPK’s case against officials on the Jakarta Futures Exchange highlights an important point – that the providers of bribes must be prosecuted with equal force of law as the recipients of bribes.

Information as of 5:30 p.m. WIB, March 11, 2015