Mustaqim Adamrah and Adianto P. Simamora
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta, November 3, 2009

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono set up а fact-finding team to review the case implicating two Ieаders of the Corruption Eradicаtion Commission (КРК) amid mounting public anger aсross the соuntry.

Team chairman Adnan Buyung Nasution said Monday the team was established in response to growing “mistrust” amongst people toward thе arrest of Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto who were dеtained last week by police.

“The team will work fоr two weeks starting Tuesday. [We] will facilitate if the team needs more time [to complete its task],” Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto told a press.conference.

The team also includes former National Commission on Human Rights member Кusрагmопо Iгsап as deputy chairman and the President’s special staffer on legal affairs Denny Indrayana as sесгеtaгy.

Thе team’s members arе prominent human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, Paramadina University rector Anies Ваswеdап, Democratic Party executive Amir Syamsuddin, Islamic State University rector Коmarudin Hidayat and University of Indonesia law professor Hikmahanto Juwana.

Bibit and Chandra were declared suspects on Sept. 15 and detained on Oct, 29 for alleged power abuse and bribery.

Public speculation that the twо КРК officials were being criminalized was recently backed up by a widely-published transcript of voice recordings of plans by police and the Attorney General’s Office to fabricate evidence framing the pair iп criminal cases.

Besides high-ranking police аnd AGO officials, thе recordings, set to be played before the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, also mention Yudhoyono.

Thе detention of thе KPK leaders has sparked outcry, as thousands of people in major cities across thе country took thе streets on Monday while more than 500,000 people signed up to a Facebook group in support of Chandra and Bibit as of Monday.

Although thе National Police headquarters officially rejected calls to dismiss National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, an officer often mentioned. in thе recordings, from his position by Monday evening, a source inside the headquarters confirmed the three-star general had been suspended.

“The generals’ meeting suspended him tо allow the -fact-finding team to vеrifу thе case. With Susno being suspended there will bе nо conflict of interest,” the officer said.

“Of course, [the recordings] will be pаrt of our task. The tеam will аlsо watch for and listen to the recordings, which will be raves a Constitutional Court hearing tomoггоw [Tuеsdау],” he said.

“But the independence of the team’s members remains iп question since part of them are linked to President Yudhoyono,” Setara Institute executive director Hendardi said.

Prosperous Justice Party (PKB) legislator, Nasir Jamil, questioned the effectiveness of the team to reveal the mastermind of the сase due to its lасk of lеgitimасy.

Unity Development Party (PPP) legislator Ahmad Yani questioned the authority of the team.

Golkar also rejected the establishment of the team, saying involving outsiders to resolve a legal case between the КPK and the police had violated the principle of law forcemeat iп Indonesia.

Jakarta Post, August 10′2009

It was about 5 p.m on April 16 when a journalist called me and informed me that the Supreme Court had, ruled in favor of Time magazine in the review of its decision in a case lodged by the Soeharto family. Time has fought this cause to the bitter end, and its odyssey in pursuit of justice finally yielded its due merits.

Here was the climax of Time’s struggle that took 1O years since Soeharto launched his suit on July 2, 1999. To the media, I assert that this judgment is nothing but final.

The legal reasoning underlying the Supreme Court’s decision is very simple indeed, i.e. that Time had afforded Soeharto’s  party the right to ‘respond, which was, published in the magazine’s May 24, 1999 edition. Furthermore, it was found, the Time report in question did not breach applicable codes of ethics for journalism. These two reasons paralyzed the charges that Time failed to corn-ply with Article 1365 of the Indonesian Civil Code.

Suffice it to say the judgment has managed to establish the legal edifice that as far as the press is concerned, the applicable legal regime is Chiefly the Press Law and the jour-realism code of ethics. The present judgment has come. in line with the Supreme Court Circular issued earlier this year, by Chief Supreme Court Justice Harifin’Tumpa, which in essence states that press cases must be considered and judged in the context of the Press Law.
In reflecting on the journey of the case, it may be useful to take a look back at, the Central Jakarta District Court’s May 31, 2000 decision. The decision was in favor of Time, rejecting entirely Soeharto’s charges against the magazine. There were many interesting legal outcomes of the court’s ruling. It can be concluded from its decision that so long as a,report by the press does not have malicious intent or “reckless disregard for the subject it does not qualify as defamation.The Jakarta High Court affirmed the Central Jakarta District Court’s decision by upholding all of the District Court’s legal considerations, after which Soeharto submitted a final appeal to the Supreme Court. And here the case. lay dormant for about six years. We do not know what happened, except to say that one day in 2007 the Supreme Court made a decision that rescinded the decisions made by the Jakarta High and Central Jakarta District Courts.

The Supreme Justices serving on the bench of the final appeal, presided over by Associate Supreme Justice German Hudiarto, concluded that Time had defamed Soeharto in the magazine’s report entitled “Soeharto Inc.: How Indonesia’s Long-time Boss Built a Family. Fortune”. Time; was ordered to place apologetic statement in various local and foreign media outlets and pay Rp 1 trillion (US$ 100 million) in damages.

The campaign culminated in our submission of Time’s application for an official review of the judgment to the Supreme Court. In the application’s brief we argued that the Supreme Court’s judgment was manifestly erroneous.

We contended that the Supreme Court bench had failed to appreciate that press cases must be considered and judged with regards to the Press Law. We repeated quite a number of our arguments at the Central Jakarta District Court and went further by inserting the latest developments in democracy and the international legal environment concerning the press.

Owing to the review of the judgment, the Supreme Court will, go awn in history as, one that re-af firms our nation’s commitment to freedom of the press: It leaves us with no; doubt to say that, simple though it maybe, the judgment will be recorded in the history of, the press, not only Indonesia’s but also the world’s, with golden ink.

It is certainly proper for us to thank the Supreme Court, which has restored our nation’s repute before the international community by virtue of this enlightened judgment appears that at the end of the tunnel, there is a candle guiding our way forward.

The writer is Time’s Attorney at Law in Indonesia

Irawaty Wardany

Jakarta, Monday, October 5,2009

The House Representatives has just passed the Corruption Court Law last week, many people considered its substances not to be in line with the spirit of corruption eradication. The Jakarta Post’s Irawaty Wardany talked to senior lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, who is also known as an anti corruption activist about this. Here are the excerpts.

What do you think of the newly enacted Corruption Court Law? Has it accommodated the spirit of corruption eradication efforts?

On the surface we can see that the spirit is still strong but we also see that there were various cooption moves regarding the Corruption Court including the plan to reduce the number of ad hoc judges in the panel of judges handling cases. Usually the ad hoc judges are the majority in the panel.That is the first issue.

Secondly, so far the corruption court is located in Jakarta only, but it will now be established in 33 provincial capitals and I heard the Supreme Court will start with establishing seven more corruption courts depending on the budget.

At some point I see that the government is trying to decentralize the fight against corruption courts but on the other hand this will cause unintended consequences such as weakening monitoring of the corruption courts, because instead of having one in Jakarta that has so far been closely watched by the civil society and by the media, now we have to diversify them to other regions that probably do not have civil societies that are as vocal, outspoken and active or free nor such independent media. These moves may unintentionally weaken anti-graft processes following the diversification of corruption courts.

Thirdly, preparation to train and to improve the skills of booth career and ad hoc corruption court judges will take time. Relatively speaking we are more geared to the current condition where the Corruption Court is located in Jakarta. Preparing career and ad hoc judges foe seven Courts, and later on for 26 other courts, will take time because it will not be easy to find judges who really have the commitment to learn about legal precedents and jurisprudence of corruption courtsd in both domestic and foreign countries.

It will also not easy to provide the needed budget from the state. It must wait for the approval of the Finance Ministry and the House of Representatives.

Fourthly, the corruption court will be subordinated to the district court because it is (structurally) under (the authority) of district courts, whereas the initial idea was that the corruption court was part of the districtcourt system but not subordinate to district courts.

I’m afraid anither unintended result of the new Corruption Court Law is that the district court chief will feel that he or she is the one who has the authority over the corruption courts.

So there is a kind of different basis here. This all indicates potential to weaken the Corruption Courts. Part of it probably by design and the rest is the unintended results or unintended consequences of diversification of the corruption courts.

So you’re saying this law has more downsides than advantages?

Well…this law is part of political compromise. We have tried our best to maintain exsistence of the Corruption Court and its composition (of judges) because it is easier to monitor and improve  the quality of the court in Jakarta rather than to monitor many corruption courts.

It doesn’t mean that we do not want to eradicate corruption in the regions but so far corruption cases that took place in teh regions such as Papua, Banyuasin, Pelalawan, Medan are all tried in Jakarta. They are what we call the big fish, but now they are going to be tried in their own regions in circumstances where the corruption will not be ready, and where human resources have yet to be come proffesional. So the quality of corruption court rullings [in these circimatances] has yet to be guaranteed [to be fair].

I don’t want to be pessimistic but a question remains now on whether the quality of regional corruption courts will have some quality as that of the jakarta court.

The Corruption Court Law only orders to diversify the court, whereas the KPK remains centralized. How do you see this?

I think the government is a bit ambiguous. KPK is supposed to have regional brances but the government has yet to approve this. So corruption cases in regions will still be habdled by the prosecutors offices.

Well…we never expected it to be like this. The initial idea was the corruption court remain in Jakarta while we are going after the big fishes but with the establisment of corruption courts in every province, we need to have regional KPK as well.

If not, the process could be blocked and in the end the prosecution process would be handled back by the AGO’s prosecutors.

If that is what happens, are the prosecutors tough enough to handle corruption cases? If the prosecutors were to be taken from (KPK) Jakarta, do we have enough to handle cases in seven regions?

So there will be problems to face in the field and that will also hamper the government’s target to eradicate corruption.

About the judge’s composition that you have mentioned earlier, the law says it will be regulated later by the Supreme Justice’s decree. How significant is the composition of the judges in affecting corruption eradication efforts?

I still believe that if the number of career judges were to be more than the number of ad hoc ones, then the quality of the rulings will not be fully in line with the spirit of corruption eradication, based on experiences so far. This is also one of my concerns.

Seeing the substance of the new Corruption Court Law and the current situation with the KPK, do you think this a reflection of the decreasing commitment by the government on corruption eradication?

I don’t want to say it is decreasing but I get the impression that the government, the lawmakers and Supreme Court are afraid and concerned with current corruption eradication efforts because it can take them down. Therefore they formulate rules that make the fight against corruption less aggressive.

This is what I call the heavily regulated anti corruption portion. The commitment is strong enough but they do not want to give freedom and authority to both the KPK and the Coruption Court.

I think the instinct of the authorites will always be like this. In normal circumstances it is all right to reduce the authority of the KPK and corruption court, but we are not in normal conditions yet. Corruption is really systemic here so therefore we must make extraordinary efforts to end it.

When we have reached conditions similiar to Singapore, New Zealand and Scandinavian countries where corrupt practices are really low then I will agree with the heavily regulated anti corruption portion. But we have yet to reach that level, so we must be aggresive.

Do you think the government’s plan to choose KPK interim leaders is also part of the efforts to weaken anti corruption moves?

I’m afraid so. It is as if there is some kind of hidden agenda. I happen to be member of the selection team and we did our best to recommend good names that would help meet public worries about the posibility of intereference in the KPK.

Jakarta, Monday, September, 28,2009

The team of five, which was specially appointed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to select three interim leaders at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), has received five candidate names in a closed envelope from law experts, a team member said.

“The names were submitted by a member of law organizations, such as the Indonesian Attorney Union [PJI] and the National Police Commission [Kompolnas], during our meeting with them,” team member Todung Mulya Lubis told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

“During the meeting, there were differences on the urgency of the president’s regulation-in-lieu of law on the KPK’s leadership, but in the end, everyone agreed that the antigraft body needed to be saved.”

Todung was referring to a regulation issued by Yudhoyono aiming to appoint individuals to serve as interim leaders at the KPK.

The KPK has lost three - Antasari Azhar, Chandra Hamzah, and Bibit Samad Riyanto - out of its five leaders after the police charged them with criminal conduct, including masterminding a murder, abuse of power and receiving bribery.

Yudhoyono saw that the KPK was in an emergency situation and needed to be saved by issuing a regulation to fill the slots, however,anticorruption activists claimed the president had tainted and jeopardized the independency of the KPK with his action.

The remaining KPK leaders M Jasin and Haryono Umar initially rejected the regulation, but they changed their minds after they met the President’s team.

During that meeting, Jasin and Umar said that they could understand the President’s reasons but they also wanted the interim leaders to be those who had sifficient capability and were ready to work starting from day one.

The team has so far agreed on three basic reqruitments for selection of candidates.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo A.S., another member of the team, said that the most important criteria was the ability to adjust to the culture of the KPK and coordinate with the remaining deputies.

Todung said that more or less of the same criteria were also requested by the organizations the team met during Saturday’s meeting.

“They want us to name people who are profesionals in the fields of law, such as attorneys, advocates and policement.

“They also asked for a guarantee that the selected interim leaders would be able to do their jobs peacefully without having to worry about being criminalized.”

Todung said that the team would make the final decesion before Sept. 1. “I also hope that president will have the wisdom to accept our decesion. He appointed us as the selection team, therfore he should not reject our recommendation.”

Another team member Adnan Buyung Nasution said as quoted by detik.com that he would quit from his job as one of the President’s advisory board members should Yudhoyono reject the team’s recommendation.

“The president has given us his mandate and trust. Ethically speaking, he must accept our recommendation.

“We cannot force him to agree with our decesion, however, I have a stance of my own.” (hdt)

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo AS speaking at his office in Jakarta with the other members of the team tasked with selecting temporary replacements for three suspended KPK officials. From left to rightTaufiequrrahman Ruki, Adnan Buyung Nasution,Andi Mattalata and Todung Mulya Lubis. [JG Photo]

Jakarta Globe, Friday, September 25,2009

Varied Criteria : Antigraft groups issue list of demands

Nivell Rayda

The Corruption Eradication Commission said on Thursday that accepted the government’s decision to issue a regulation in lieu of law, or perpu, to select temporary replacements for three suspended officials from the antigraft body.

Haryono Umar, one of the two ramaining active leaders of the commission, known as the KPK, said he and his colleagues were simply “following the mandate of the law.”

On Tuesday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued the perpu to personally select three replacements, bypassing a selection process in the house of Representative that is set out in the law on the KPK.

With only two active commissioners, the KPK is one member short of the number legally required to make key decisions.

“If the president has issued the perpu, then all we can do is accept it as it is, “Haryono said.

“We will accept the president’s decision, but we hope the government will consult with us on the matter. We are already disappointed because the president  didn’t consult with us when he issued the perpu.”

A day after passing the perpu, Yudhoyono appointed a five member team to recommend replacements.

The team, which must produce names for the president to select by next week, had its first session on Thursday.

Todung Mulya Lubis, one of the team members and a prominent lawyer, said that given the tight deadline, the selection team would resort to head-hunting rather than open recruitment.

“We don’t have the time to make a public announcement, accept applications, screen candidats and interview them, in line with the proper [KPK commissioner] selection process, “he said.

“We will come up with a shortlist of names and approach the candidates pwersonally.”

Todung added that Thursday’s discussion focused on the criteria for choosing the temporary replacements, rather than specific names. “We are looking for people with integrity who are acceptable to the public, as stated in Article 29 of the KPK law, “He said.

“We also have some other criteria. We are looking for people who are able to work with the current commissioners.”

KPK chief Antasari Azhar has been suspended as he awaits trial for the murder of a businessman. Two of Antasari’s deputies, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah, were controversially accused of abusing their powers by the National Police last week. They were both suspended on Tuesday.

Adnan Buyung Nasution, a lawyer and another member of the selection team, said that if the case was halted before it reached prosecution, Bibit and Chandra would be welcome to return to active duty.

Antigraft groups and legal analyst have protested against the matter, saying that police were trying to find excuses to oust KPK leaders who were trying to investigate a senior police officer in a major bribery case.

Some of them also objected to the perpu itselft, claiming that Yudhoyono was trying to undermine  the KPK’s independence.

“The move is not meant to save the KPK,”Hendardi, the chairman of the Setara Institute, said on Thursday.

“The passage of the perpu is linked to the police’s decesion to question the KPK’s authority. There is no proof that the KPK could not perform well with just two members.”

Separately, antigraft groups outlined their own criteria for the replacements. The groups including organization such as Indonesia Corruption Watch, the National Consurtium for Legal Reform (KRHN) and the Center for Law and Policy Studies (PSHK) argued that people who have proffesional or personal ties to the president should not be chosen as replacement officials.

They also objected to lawyers who have represented clients in KPK cases, as well as law enforcement officals and individuals affiliated with specific political parties.

The Jakarta Post

Irawaty Wardany
Jakarta Thursday, 24 September 2009

“The team consists of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto, presidential advisor Adnan Buyung Nasution, Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Matalatta, former KPK chairman Taufiequrrahman Ruki and lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis,” Widodo said-as quoted by Antara state newswire Wednesday.

Last week corruption watchdogs expressed their strong opposition to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s plan to issue a government regulation-in-lieu-of-law (Perppu) on the appointment of three acting leaders.

Critics said the move signified the Presidents direct interference in the internal affairs of the independent Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Widodo added that the presidential decree would allow the team to shortlist.candidates who would fill the posts left vacant by KPK chief Antasari Azhar and deputy chiefs Chandra M. Hamzah and pibit Samad Rianto, following their implication in criminal cases.

Antasari was arrested by the police in April for his alleged involvement in the murder of a state owned  company director Nasruddin Zulkarnaen.

Chandra and Bibit were held as suspects last week due to their alleged power abuse when they imposed a travel ban on two graft suspects, Anggoro Widjojo and Djoko S. Tjandra.
The President hopes the interim leaders will be credible and accept-able figures, therefore he has formed a selection team,” Widodo said.

He added the team would submit  the names of candidates to the President on Oct, 1 hoping that the three acting KPK leaders would be sworn in on Oct, 2.

Todung who was still celebrating the Idul Fitri in Medan, North Sumatra, said he had already, made contact with Buyung, and the team would meet today to carry out their task as stipulated by the decree.

He said the decree was a follow-up to the issuance of the government regulation-in-lieu-of-law concerning the revision the 20b2 KPK law signed by the President on Tuesday.
The regulation allows the President to appoint interim leaders when there are vacant posts at the commission.

The President, who departed for the United States on Wednesday, said it was a necessary step because he was afraid the KPK could not work with only two leaders.

Separately, KPK advisor council member Abdullah Hehamahua said people appointed from outside the commission would hamper KPK’s operation because they would need time to adjust to the KPK work culture.

Meanwhile, antigraft activists reiterated their strong resistance to the President’s move, saying it would be a “disaster” for the KPK’s independence.

“We are afraid those people who will be appointed, to fill the KPK vacant positions will only be pup-pets of the executive,” newly elected member of Regional Representative Council Sarah Lery Mboeik told a conference.

September, 24,2009

By Lynn Lee

Indonesia Correspondent

Jakarta: Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono yesterday made a move to bolster the leadership of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which has lost three of its five leaders in recent months to scandal. 

Before leaving for the United States to meet world leaders at the group of 20 summit, Dr Yudhoyono ordered the formation of a team to propose three interim leaders by next Thursday. The new leaders will then be sworn in the following day.

The KPK - which has many enemies among Indonesia’s elite due to its largely successful attempts at exposing corruption scandals - lost its chief Mr Antasari Azghar in May when police named him as the suspected mastermind of the murder of a bussinessman. He is now awaiting trial.

Last week, two of KPK’s four deputy chairman - Messrs Chandra  M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto - were suspended from their posts, after police accused them of abusing their power by issuing travel bans on two businessmen suspected of graft.

The KPK’s two remaining deputies, Mr Haryono Umar and Mr M. Jasin, have been running the institution.

Dr Yudhoyono referred to his move to appoint new leaders as an “emergency situation” for the KPK. He said that after consulting with the Constitutional and Supreme Courts and top legislators, he would issue a presidential regulation to appoint the new leaders.

But his move was met with a backlash from analysts and anti-graft activists  who said that he should not impose his will on the KPK, which operates independently of the government.

The KPK has gained a reputation as one of the few clean institution in the country, where corruption is endemic, after a series of successful convictions against top officials.

Said Ms Jaleswari Pramowardhani of the Indonesian Institute of sciences to The Jakarta Post : “This could be a bad precedent for the future, that the government would be able to interfere in any institution in this nation.”

Also, there has been dispute over whether Mr Chandra and Mr Bibit are indeed guilty. Their supporters said the national police have a bone to pick with the KPK. Supporters have also decried investigations on both men as no evidence has been found to implicate them. 

By law, KPK leaders have to be aproved by a Parliament committee, but the process is a lengthy one. Yesterday, Cordinating Minister for Politics, Legal and Security Affairs, Mr Widodo Adi Sucipto, who is on the five man approval team said Dr Yudhoyono wanted to have the “void” in the KPK filled soon. 

The others on the team are justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Mattalatta, presidential adviser Adnan Buyung Nasution, former KPK chief Taufiqurrahman Ruki and lawyer and human rights activist Todung Mulya Lubis (left).

Mr Todung, who was the Jakarta based defence counsel for Temasek Holdings’ wrangle with Indonesia’s anti-monopoly agency, told The Straits Times yesterday that the team will meet today for the first time.

They would be looking for candidates who have integrity, good character and are committed to the anti-graft cause, among other qualities, he said. 

According to news reports, some names that activists have suggested include Mr Amin Sunaryadi, a former deputy chairman of the KPK, and Mr Marsilam Simanjuntak, the former attorney-general.

Said Mr Todung: “I don’t see the President as interfering in the process, because the team of five has been formed and our task is to give him three names. So, we will be listening for any worthy recommendations from the ground.”

lynnlee@sph.com.sg

Adianto Simamora

Jakarta, Saturday, September 26,2009 

Members of the government-appointed Team 5 and the remaining leadership of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday jointly agreed that the nominees for the body’s interim leadership should be experienced candidates who can jump their new responsibilities without hesitation.

Team member Widodo AS said KPK deputies Haryono Umar and Muhammad Jasin were both supportive of Team 5’s eforts and that both shared similiar visions on the criteria for nominees.

“They provided some very useful input. We welcome their contributions.” According to Widodo one of the most important aspects raised was the need for candidates to be independent, have integrity and to be able to “tune-in” quickly to the demands of the job.

Widodo and other Team 5 members such as Adnan Buyung Nasution and Todung Mulya Lubis both said they could not rely on a regular recruitment process due to severe time constraints.

“In this short time we have to do quite a bit of talent scouting,” Adnan Buyung said.

Todung said the Team 5 was trying to engage with as many stakeholders as possible.

“There have been a lot of proposals. Text messages coming in almost continuously. On my cellphone there must be 100 names [for candidates] already,” he remarked.

Widodo said other criteria that the Team 5 had agreed upon was that the nominee should not have a “psychological obstacle” vis-a-vis the two suspended deputy chairman’s who were now under police custody.

He added that the three nominees eventually put forward should ideally be individuals who would be “acceptable to the general public at large”.

Widodo further lamented public speculation that Team 5 was merely created to impose the authority of the executive government over the KPK.

He strongly denied such impreddions and insisted that the team had the full autonomy to nominate people whom they believed could best fill this importants post.

Previously, the team met with remaining KPK leaders M. Jasin and Haryono Umar to collaborate in proposing nominees to fill the vacant posts at the commission. Widodo, also coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, said that the KPK’s suggestions were valuable in executing its duties to select qualified interim KPK leaders.

“Their views are valuable input for us in executing our duties,” he told reporters after the meeting.

KPK deputy chairman for prevention M Jasin said he and Umar recommended that the interim leaders should come from the KPK internal staff.

“People in the KPK were recruited using a merit system; they have integrity and are professional in their work. Besides, we will someone from inside our circle.”

He also suggested one of interim leaders could be elected from former KPK leaders. “If the proposal was accepted, it would help us to carry out our tasks in overcoming the crisis condition as we are waiting for the legal process against Bibit and Chandra.”

Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, suspected of abusing their power. Suspended KPK chief Antasari Azhar is facing murder charges.

Jasin said that as a government institution, the KPK could not disapprove of the government regulation in lieu-of-law (perppu) stipulating the establisment of the team.

Team 5 was scheduled to meet with law experts on Saturday afternoon.

Wednesday, August 5,2009, Jakarta

The Judiciary Commission must be strengthened if the government is serious about eradicating corruption in the judiciary and stamping out the so-called “court mafia”, a seminar concluded Tuesday. Officials and legal experts at the seminar agreed that amending the recent Judicial Commission law would be a good way to start.
“We must not waste our time merely discussing how to tackle corruption without taking any real action to tackle it. We must amend the law,” Thahir Saimima, a member of the commission, told the seminar.
Saiman said the amendment should give the commission power to investigate and punish offending judges. “I expect to see that in the immediate future the Judicial Commission will be able to closely monitor the judges and summon them when they need to investigate,”he added.
The current Judicial Commission Law has been criticized for being too weak and not giving the commission the power it needs to effectively monitor judges. According to the law, the commission only has the authority to select candidates for position on the Supreme Court.
“The ball is in the hands of the government and the house right now. If they really want to eradicate judicial corruption then i don’t  see any more obstacles that would prevent them from deliberating the amendment,” he said.
United Development Party (PPP)  legislator Lukman Halim Syafiuddin acknowledged the House would most likely be unable to amend the law before their term ends in October. “With several other bills, such as the corruption court bill, that need to be passed in time, I must say we probably won’t be able to make any amendments to the existing Judicial Commission Law as we are running out of time,” he said. Lukman added the task of passing the amendment would be most likely be passed on to the incoming members of the house.
He, however,, agreed that giving the commission more power, especially in its authority to monitor judges, would contribute a great deal to the country’s effort to eradicating the court mafia.
Lawyer-cum-graft-activist Todung Mulya Lubis, who also attended the seminar, agreed as to the importance of strengthening the commission’s authority, saying increased monitoring would force judges to work within the law. “They would know that they are monitored by an outside body. This would be a good deterrent for judges who are thinking about accepting bribes,” he said
Judges Artijo Alkostar said that good monitoring would enhance the integrity of the nation’s judges.

Dicky Christanto - The Jakarta Post

The Jakarta Post,  Thu, 11/05/2009The government-sanctioned fact-finding team, dubbed Team 8, held various meetings Wednesday with parties involved in a saga over criminal cases against the suspended deputy leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The team also met with chief editors of national media outlets in the evening

On Wednesday the team is slated to meet National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji and Anggodo Widjojo among the figures in the scandal.

National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri, detective deputy chief Insp. Gen. Dikdik Mulyana, legal division deputy chief Brig. Gen. Jovianes and several detectives have also been questioned. 

The group has been tasked to investigate the origin of the case against Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto and its progress so far. 

“Apparently it began from the testimony of Antasari [Azhar],” team chairman Adnan Buyung Nasution said after the meeting.

“The police found that Antasari went to Singapore and met with Anggodo Widjojo, who has been put on a travel ban list.

“Antasari heard that this deputies had received money from Anggoro,”Buyung said.

Deposed KPK chief Antasari is being tried for allegedly plotting the murder of Nasruddin Zulkarnaen, a director at a state firm, while Anggoro is the director of PT Masaro Radiokom and is allegedly involved in a bribery casr involving a communication system project at the the Forestry Ministry.

Bambang also said the KPK deputies had abused their power by lifting the travel ban against graft suspect Joko Chandra by stating that he had been “investigated and prosecuted, while the fact is that never happened”.

The police arrested Chandra and Bibit on Thursday and released them in the early hours of Wednesday after the Constitutional Court heard voice recordings describing a plot to frame the deputies.

The police also detained Anggodo for questioning Tuesday evening.

“Bambang said the police would have to release Anggodo if no sifficient preliminary evidence was found to arrest him,”Buyung said.

Team member Anies Baswedan said he did not know what kind of evidence the police still lacked. However, Anggodo was later released on Wednesday evening.

During a meeting with the chief editors, Team 8 member Todung Mulya lubis said that Anggodo’s taped conversation showed his contempt for the law.

“Police decided this morning that there is not enough evidence so he will be release. This is clearly an obstruction of justice, if cannot be tolerated.

“We don’t think we are limited to verifying the process of investigation of Bibit and Chandra, after what we heard yesterday [Tuesday] at the Constitutional Court.”

The team’s end goal “should be to uproot the mafioso and corrupt practices in the court, and thouroughly reform the legal system, “he said.

Anies stressed the need to keep the momentum going to ensure legal reform.

Separately, activists urged the President to take firm action against the police and the Attorney General’s Office by replacing senior officials allegedly involved in the plot against the two KPK deputies.

Mustaqim Adamrah and Irawaty Wardany

Source URL: http//www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/11/05/team-8meets-police-chief-quiz-susno-anggodo.html