SUMMARY:

On Sunday, March 8, the former director of investigations at the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), Chairul Imam, added his voice to calls for the Supreme Court to mitigate suspects’ use of pre-trial motions to halt investigations in midstream. He urged the Supreme Court to issue an instruction prohibiting lower court judges from ruling on pre-trial motions in ongoing criminal investigations, arguing that suspected perpetrators of the motorcycle hijackings that have shocked the nation could use pre-trial motions to escape justice. However, signals from the Supreme Court indicate the judicial body is hesitant to intervene. All five active KPK commissioners met with the head of the Supreme Court, Hatta Ali, on Friday, March 6 to explore avenues for further appeal of the South Jakarta District Court’s ruling, which saw the investigation against Budi Gunawan dropped. However, according to sources who attended the meeting, Hatta Ali said that the KPK lacked a legal avenue to submit an appeal (peninjauan kembali – PK) of a pre-trial ruling, and that the law only provided such an opportunity for a criminal suspect to do so. Interim KPK Commissioner Johan Budi said the anti-graft agency had not yet decided whether to submit a PK, and was still discussing the matter internally. The academic review carried out by the Djokosoetono Research Center at the University of Indonesia’s Legal Faculty on March 5, found that South Jakarta District Court judge Sarpin Rizaldi had clearly exceeded his legal authority and had committed a number of procedural violations in his handling of Budi Gunawan’s pre-trial motion.

On Monday, March 9, National Police lawyer Fredrich Yunandi confirmed to local media that the entire National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) leadership had been reported to the police for publishing the results of its investigation into the Jan. 16 arrest of inactive KPK Vice Chair Bambang Widjojanto. The National Police had requested a formal apology for the release of the report, which found that the police had violated Bambang’s rights and had violated its own procedural regulations. Fredrich argued that Komnas HAM lacked the legal authority to publish the results of its investigation for public review, despite it being a publicly funded body. Komnas Ham Chair Hafid Abbas responded saying that the cases had already been brought to the public’s attention, and that any attempt to bury the information was undemocratic. A similar report from the Ombudsman (ORI), released on Feb. 18, also found a number of administrative violations in Bambang’s arrest, and recommended disciplinary action for a number of officers involved. An unofficial translation is attached at the end of this digest. The National Police have openly disregarded the recommendations, and last week promoted one of the officers in question to oversee the division handling Bambang’s case on the orders of Budi Gunawan. The same officer, Victor Simanjuntak, told media that the case against Budi Gunawan would be dropped if forwarded to the police – as indicated by the AGO – as it had already been cleared up in a previous internal investigation.

On Sunday, March 8, a number of activists gathered in front of the Constitutional Court to call for an end to the criminalization of the KPK and its supporters. At the event, the so-called “Team of Nine” – formed by Jokowi to provide policy options for resolving the current conflict between the two law enforcement bodies, but lacking a formal mandate due the lack of a signed decree from the President – received a symbolic “public mandate” from the assembled activists. Ahmad Syafii Maarif called on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to fire National Police Detectives Unit Director Budi Waseso as the primary instigator behind the criminalization of the KPK and its supporters. Maarif said Jokowi’s continued inaction had turned Indonesia into a “leaderless land”. Last week, President Jokowi told media he had already instructed the National Police to stop its pursuit of the popular anti-graft body.

On Monday, March 9, Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, of the PDI-P party, proposed a dramatic increase to the national subsidy for political parties, increasing funding from the state budget to as much as Rp 1 trillion per party. Currently, the 12 registered national political parties receive an annual stipend of Rp 108 for each vote they receive in the legislative election. According to the current formula and voter turnout in the April election, total state subsidies for political parties equate to roughly Rp 13.5 billion per year. The proposed changes would equate to a nearly hundred-fold increase. Tjahjo said that with increased funding would come tougher financial reporting and transparency requirements, though many activists worry about the potential for the subsidy’s abuse.

On Monday, March 9, anti-corruption NGO Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) released its preliminary findings on indications of fraud or corruption in the 2014 DKI Jakarta provincial budget. Among its key findings, ICW’s research highlighted that in 2014, more than 51 percent of the city’s reported spending on equipment and infrastructure for the education department indicated fraud or corruption may have taken place. Allegations of surreptitious insertions into the draft 2015 provincial budget, particularly in the education sector, have formed the basis of the current stand-off between Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and the city council. Budget watchdog FITRA earlier claimed that budget for the capital’s education office had gone up by Rp 5.3 trillion ($411 million) after it passed the council’s deliberation process. Legal counsel for the city council, Razman Arif Nasution, confirmed on Monday, March 9, that he had been requested to hold off on reporting Ahok to the National Police on allegations ranging from ethical violations to document forgery and attempted bribery, pending further review of the draft budget by the Home Affairs Ministry.

On Friday, March 6, the Jakarta Corruption Court found two city officials guilty of corruption related to procurement of busses for the city’s TransJakarta system. Drajad Adhyaksa, the former secretary of the Jakarta Transportation Office, was sentenced to five years in jail, and Setyo Tuhu, the head of a committee in charge of appointing suppliers of buses for the TransJakarta network, was sentenced to four years. Both men were also fined Rp 250 million. The pair were given lighter sentences than sought by the prosecutors, in part, because they did not benefit personally from the bid-fixing, but had distributed the proceeds to others. Udar Pristono, the transportation office chief at the time of the procurement, is due to stand trial soon in the same case.

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

IMPLICATIONS:

The National Police’s action against Komnas HAM represents a troubling continuation of what appears to be a politically motivated campaign against the KPK and its supporters, despite clear and direct instructions from the president to the contrary. It is entirely possible that ORI will face the same pressure, given its strong supporting position of Bambang Widjojanto in a highly unfavorable political climate. Jokowi’s public statements indicate that he thinks he has already put an end to the situation, and highlight a certain degree of frustration with repeated questions from the media on the issue. However, public opinion and current developments show the problem continues to simmer.

Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo’s announcement regarding a dramatic increase in state subsidies for political parties took many activists by surprise. However, if implemented effectively, with serious reporting requirements and stiff criminal penalties for misuse or misappropriation, the proposal presents a genuine opportunity to increase the financial transparency and accountability of political parties. Though it is unlikely political parties would approve a final package that includes an equal Rp 1 trillion per party, a significant increase in funding would also increase the chances for the KPK to investigate related allegations of corruption that cross the Rp 1 billion threshold.

The continued public scrutiny of the Jakarta budget indicates a trend of greater public involvement in budget oversight. It also highlights the importance of transparency, as none of the current allegations of questionable allocations would have been uncovered had the budget been kept from public view. The courage of political leaders like Ahok to confront unscrupulous practices through open and transparent means should be commended and further encouraged in the 497 districts/municipalities and 34 provinces across the country. The successful prosecution and conviction of two Jakarta officials for their roles in the bid-fixing that resulted in substandard and fire-prone busses for the city’s struggling public transportation system marks another significant victory for the anti-corruption effort. However, greater transparency in budgeting and procurement processes may have prevented the fiasco in the first place.

Information as of 5:30 p.m. WIB, March 9, 2015