Lap of luxury: Indonesian jailers busted over fancy cells

Yahoo – AFP, 23 July 2018

Outside authorities found several cells that featured modern bathrooms with hot
showers, full-sized refrigerators, coffee makers, microwave ovens and stereo loudspeakers

Inmates at an Indonesian prison paid for luxury cells equipped with air conditioning, flat-screen TVs and private washrooms, anti-graft officials said, in the graft-riddled country's latest corruption scandal.

Jail staff allegedly took bribes of 200-500 million rupiah ($14,000-$35,000) from inmates to renovate cells and supply banned mobile phones or even let them temporarily leave prison, Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said.

Anti-graft agents arrested five people connected to the scandal at Sukamiskin prison, including inmates and the warden who got cash and a pair of vehicles to look the other way, it added.

A raid on Sunday turned up several cells that featured modern bathrooms with hot showers, full-sized refrigerators, coffee makers, microwave ovens and stereo loudspeakers, the KPK said.

"We apologise to the Indonesian people," Sri Puguh Budi Utami, the director general of Indonesia's prisons, told reporters late Sunday.

"We're very sorry that we still have not been able to maximise our monitoring systems."

A former tax official now serving time at Sukamiskin was once photographed watching a tennis tournament in Bali and had even travelled overseas on a fake passport when he was supposed to be in another jail.

Jail staff allegedly took bribes of 200-500 million rupiah ($14,000-$35,000) from

 inmates to renovate cells and supply banned mobile phones or even let them 

temporarily leave prison

The prison's other inmates include a former chief justice and ex-house speaker Setya Novanto, who was convicted in April of taking millions of dollars in kickbacks and bribes linked to the national roll-out of government ID cards.

They were not among the inmates or prison staff arrested Sunday.

Indonesian prisons are more commonly known for their poor conditions and outbreaks of violence.

But it is an open secret that the rich and powerful can buy luxury on the inside, prompting the government to warn last year that it would jail guards or other staff caught taking bribes from inmates in exchange for special treatment.

In one of the highest-profile cases, a businesswoman imprisoned for bribery had a cell with a spring mattress, couch, refrigerator, television and air conditioning -- and adjoining karaoke room.

Setya Novanto Hospitalized After Car Crash Amid Arrest Warrant in e-KTP Case

JakartaGlobe, Telly Nathalia, November 16, 2017

House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto has been hospitalized following
 a solo car crash on Thursday night (16/11), mere hours after making his first public
statement regarding a warrant for his arrest in the e-KTP corruption case. (Antara Photo/
Sigid Kurniawan)

Jakarta. House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto has been hospitalized following a solo car crash on Thursday night (16/11), mere hours after making his first public statement regarding a warrant for his arrest in the so-called e-KTP corruption case.

Novanto has repeatedly failed to show up for questioning by antigraft investigators as a suspect in the case involving massive graft in the procurement of electronic national identity cards, or e-KTP. The project was mothballed in October 2015 following a series of problems, including a late start, technical glitches and officials demanding payments from residents to provide the ostensibly free service.

Novanto's lawyer Fredrich Yunadi confirmed that his client was admitted to Permata Hijau Hospital in South Jakarta. He said Novanto was unconscious and that he suffered from high blood pressure, in addition to a pre-existing heart condition.

"I received a call to meet him at the Metro TV studios. On my way [to Metro TV], his aide informed me that they had just been involved in an accident ... he [Novanto] was injured and immediately lost consciousness," Fredrich said.

The lawyer explained that Novanto intended to comply with a summons by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prior to the accident, but that this unfortunately prevented his client from doing so.

Fredrich said four internists are observing Novanto due to his "serious" medical condition, which will require his client undergoing a computed tomography, or MRI, test.

A few hours before the accident, Metro TV conducted a telephonic interview with the Golkar Party chairman, who denied allegations that he was trying to avoid questioning in the case.

"I have to respect the legal process I am facing now, and I always respect the process. I never fail [to comply with KPK summonses], because each of the three times I was summoned as a witness in the case against Anang, I submitted written statements. Today is my fourth summons," Novanto said, referring to Anang Sudihardjo, president director of Quadra Solution, one of the companies in a consortium that won a contract to procure the national identity cards for the government.

"This is my first summons as a suspect. I am surprised, because just after the first summons, while I was studying the legal matters for today, there was a plan to arrest me," he continued.

In early November, the KPK named Novanto a suspect in the case for a second time, based on allegations that he siphoned off Rp 574 billion ($42 million) from the Rp 5.9 trillion e-KTP project, which resulted in Rp 2.3 trillion in state losses.

"I never received money; it can be checked with the BPK [State Audit Agency] or the BPKP [State Finance and Development Surveillance Committee]," Novanto stressed.

He explained that he filed for a judicial review by the Constitutional Court of the 2002 Law on the KPK, including an article that allows the antigraft agency to question a suspect by disregarding procedures stipulated in other laws. Another article allows the KPK to request the immigration office to impose a travel ban on a graft suspect.

"I also took up legal protection measures with the president and other state agencies," he said, admitting that he reported KPK commissioners Agus Rahardjo and Saut Situmorang to the police for abuse of authority and using false documents to bar him from leaving the country.

Novanto's whereabouts were unknown when antigraft investigators showed up at his house in South Jakarta on Wednesday night. This prompted the KPK to warn the politician that he would be declared a fugitive from justice if he did not surrender himself to investigators.

Police said on Wednesday that they would assist the KPK in apprehending Novanto if requested to do so.

Related Articles:

Top Indonesian politician embroiled in huge corruption case goes missing

Golkar to Find New Chairman to Replace Disgraced Setya Novanto https://t.co/2fXyQChzwj pic.twitter.com/Z1d3IdvgzW

— The Jakarta Globe (@thejakartaglobe) November 20, 2017

KPK Receives 30 New Investigators From National Police

Jakarta Globe, Edo Karensa, October 09, 2016

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has welcomed at least 30 new
 investigating officers from the National Police to boost the number of corruption
cases it can handle. (Antara Photo/Widodo S. Jusuf)

Jakarta. The national antigraft agency has welcomed at least 30 new investigating officers from the National Police to boost the number of corruption cases it can handle.

"The new investigators will help to free the country from corrupt behavior, which has been a worrying trend, including outside Java Island where the KPK has not handled these cases very well," Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Saut Situmorang told state-run Antara news agency in Jakarta on Saturday (08/10).

Prior to the addition, the KPK had 219 investigators – comprising 91 involved in initial investigations, locally known as penyidik, and 118 detectives, or penyelidik.

The increased number of investigators is still insufficient for the KPK, which received more than 5,694 reports of corrupt practices in 2015 alone. Among those reports, 2,807 had adequate evidence to be brought before a court, but the agency could only handle 171 cases.

The rest of reports were handed over to the Attorney General's Office, National Police, Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), State Finance Development Comptroller (BPKP) and related ministries.

Suharto Family Ordered to Pay Back $324m in Embezzled Funds

Jakarta Globe, Aug 11, 2015

Siti Hediati Hariyadi, popularly known as Titiek Suharto, is the late
Indonesian president's fourth child. (AFP Photo/Rahmat Pribadi)

Jakarta. The Supreme Court has ordered the family of former president Suharto to pay back to the state Rp. 4.4 trillion ($324 million) in funds misappropriated during the late strongman’s lengthy reign.

The court ruled in favor of the prosecution in a civil case against the now-defunct Supersemar Foundation, controlled by the Suharto family. The ruling, made on July 8 but not announced on the court’s website until Monday, revised an earlier ruling in 2010 which ordered the family to pay just a tiny fraction of the losses to the state.

The court repealed a 1976 government regulation issued by the former president ordering all state-owned banks to set aside 2.5 percent of their profits for the foundation. The court ruled that the funds accumulated since the foundation was established — a total sum of $420 million and Rp 185 billion — were largely embezzled and never used for their stated purpose: education.

The court has now ordered the foundation to pay 75 percent of the funds it had amassed over the years, while the 2010 ruling had ordered the Suharto family to pay $315,000 and Rp 185 million — a small sum for the once-powerful family — instead of the $315 million and Rp 185 billion the Attorney General’s Office had sought. The court claimed this was due to a typo.

The AGO only filed for a case review in 2013, around the same time the Suharto family filed a separate motion looking to reverse the order.

The court “granted the case review filed by the state [the AGO] and rejected the case review filed by the Supersemar Foundation,” the latest ruling states.

Hearing the case were Supreme Court judges Suwardi, Soltony Mohdally and Mahdi Soroinda Nasution.

Attorney General M. Prasetyo said on Monday that his office would follow up on the ruling.

“I haven’t read the ruling. I will read it first and then we will know what to do next,” he said, as quoted by Gatra magazine.

Chief Detective Flip-Flops on Wealth Report, Now Says Will Comply

Jakarta Globe, Jun 02, 2015

Budi Waseso, center, the National Police’s chief of detectives, says he will, after all,
submit a mandatory wealth report to the KPK. (Antara Photo/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)

Jakarta. The Indonesian police’s chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso, claims his previously quoted refusal to submit a wealth report to the country’s antigraft commission was taken out of context by the media.

Budi told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday that he had every intention of filing the report with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), but wanted a third party to compile it for reasons of transparency.

“I want to be honest and open. So if possible, I prefer not to be the one to compile the report,” he said as quoted by Tempo.

“Once the report is completed, I will definitely submit it. I never said I didn’t want to,” he added.

Budi was quoted by Kompas last Friday as saying that he would not report his wealth and instead challenged investigators from the KPK to “fill in the details.”

“Let the KPK team do the counting because self-reporting is a subjective mechanism that may differ from what the KPK will find at a later date,” he said at the time.

Activists from prominent anti-corruption organizations lambasted the three-star general for the statement, given that filing a wealth report is mandatory for all senior public officials, including in the police force.

Budi, though, claimed on Tuesday that he had been misquoted as part of a “smear campaign” by the media.

“My statement was flipped over in the media. I know which media it is and who the reporter is. There’s a specific message behind it. But it’s alright, I shouldn’t get upset by it,” he told Tempo.

Despite his claim, Budi has long made clear his hostility toward the KPK.

It was his office that instigated – in retaliation against the KPK’s naming of another police general, Budi Gunawan, a corruption suspect – a series of criminal investigations against KPK officials based on trumped-up charges, some of them dating back a decade.

Related Article:

Basuki to Fire Officials Who Fail to Submit Wealth Reports

‘We Need the KPK and the KPK Needs Us’: New Police Chief Signals Detente

Jakarta Globe, Farouk Arnaz, Apr 17, 2015

President Joko Widodo, center, oversaw the oath-taking ceremony of National
 Police Chief Badrodin Haiti, left, on Friday. (Antara Foto/Widodo S. Jusuf)

Jakarta. The National Police finally had their definitive chief on Friday, for the first time since January, when President Joko Widodo swore in Badrodin Haiti to the post and promoted the former deputy chief to full general.

But Badrodin only has until July next year, when he enters retirement age, to mend police’s image as the country’s most corrupt institution, improve public trust, and fix the severed ties with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The Jakarta Globe spoke to Badrodin at his home in Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, on Wednesday night, just hours before the House of Representatives staged a confirmation hearing that eventually concluded with an endorsement of his nomination.

Q: Do you feel you have enough time to accomplish what you want?

A: I never dreamed about becoming the police chief. This is a huge responsibility. I feel I need to do all I can with the opportunity given, otherwise my being police chief will be meaningless. I will continue several [existing] programs while improving the police’s performance and addressing some of the issues the public have complained about, like illegal fees. I cannot allow this to happen and I will do something about this. I will make the most out of the time I have.

Q: How do you feel about the poor public perception of the police?

A: We can’t ignore the fact that the image of the police force is still negative. We’re very much dependent on people’s input and evaluation. We still see corruption [inside the police] occurring all the time. We need a mental revolution inside the force but also better internal and external supervision. But people also need to be more aware of the law and not break it. I have instructed my men to give verbal warnings to traffic violators and only issue a ticket when they won’t admit to breaking the law. This is one example of how the police are looking to stop corruption.

Q: Officers often argue that they take bribes to compensate for the low pay. What’s your take?

A: Our budget is far from sufficient. But that shouldn’t be an excuse to extort or take bribes from the public. I will take strict measures if they do. The government is slowly increasing our budget and we want to use it to the fullest. For example, according to our calculation, our budget is only enough to finance 300 days of patrols a year. But this doesn’t mean that we can go around looking for payoffs the other 65 days. It definitely doesn’t mean we should stop patrolling during these other days. We just need to be creative. If, for example, we use cars to patrol [an area], then maybe we can drop an officer in, say, Blok M [in South Jakarta] and he can patrol on foot. The bottom line is that officers need to be creative.

Q: How are you trying to mend ties with the KPK?

A:We need the KPK and the KPK needs us. For example, because police’s authority is limited, unlike the KPK’s, we spend too much time going back and forth to the prosecutors’ office when investigation a corruption case. But the KPK can act as a referee and determine if the case should go to trial or if [the prosecutors] are just giving us a hard time. We want the KPK to be not only good at enforcement but also prevention. We also want the KPK to involve the police in their investigations. Together, we can attack corruptors. That is what I see as the ideal relationship between the police and the KPK.

House Approves Badrodin as Police Chief

Jakarta Globe, Hizbul Ridho & Hotman Siregar, Apr 16, 2015

Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti is Indonesia's new National Police chief.
(Antara Photo/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)

Jakarta. The House of Representatives on Thursday endorsed the nomination of Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti as the new National Police chief, citing statements from the Corruption Eradication Commission, known as the KPK, and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center, or PPATK, that he was clean of graft — squashing speculation to the contrary.

Badrodin’s nomination was unanimously voted on by the 283 lawmakers present at Thursday’s plenary session.

He currently serves as both the deputy police chief and the acting chief.

President Joko Widodo in February sent a letter to the House indicating Badrodin as his sole nominee for police chief.

The president withdrew his previous candidate, Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, the month before following bribery allegations and an ensuing public outcry.

The plenary session on Thursday afternoon went smoothly after all 10 parties at the House approved Badrodin’s nomination.

The session took only half of an hour to conclude after the House’s legal affairs commission declared him as having passed the fit-and-proper test held earlier in the day.

“Commission III requests the annulment of the nomination of Budi Gunawan as the National Police chief candidate, and approves Badrodin Haiti as the selected candidate, with hopes that he will truly enhance the image of the National Police, enforce the law and protect the public,” said Aziz Syamsuddin, the head of House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs and human rights.

Legislators did not immediately approve Joko’s mid-March withdrawal of Budi’s nomination, summoning the president to discuss it last week.

Budi was red-flagged by the government’s PPATK in 2010 for suspiciously hefty amounts in his personal bank accounts.

The KPK named him a bribery suspect mid-January, just a few days after Joko submitted his nomination to the House.

The suspect status, though, was later overthrown by the South Jakarta District Court in a controversial ruling after Budi filed a pretrial motion against the KPK over the charges.

Badrodin was implicated in the same “fat accounts” scandal as Budi, which was unearthed in 2010.

PPATK chief M. Yusuf said in a hearing with legislators last week that Badrodin was indeed among a group of police generals that the anti-money-laundering agency reported to the National Police’s detectives’ unit at the time over hefty bank accounts.

He added, though, that the allegation against Badrodin had since been cleared after he was able to sufficiently explain a Rp 3 billion ($233,000) transaction through his bank account.

State-run news agency Antara in a January report cited data from the KPK that said Badrodin’s wealth amounted to nearly $650,000 as of May 2014, when he was appointed the police deputy chief.

Half of the figure came from property assets scattered in Jakarta, Bekasi, Depok, as well as Semarang, Central Java, and Pandeglang, Banten.

Yusuf, though, declared Badrodin clean from corruption.

“We’ve clarified that we’ve found no suspicious transactions involving [Badrodin],” he said during the hearing with Commission III members last week.

Acting KPK chief Taufiequrrahman Ruki also cleared Badrodin of any indication of corruption.

“B.H. [Badrodin] is a person who obediently reports his wealth regularly,” he testified at the same hearing before the House.

“Since the beginning, he has always updated his wealth reports.”

Badrodin, while presenting his platform during the fit-and-proper test on Thursday, called on legislators to create a regulation that would help curb the flow of Indonesian sympathizers of the extremist jihadist group Islamic State to Syria and Iraq.

“The National Police have stated several times that although ISIS is supposed to be banned here there is no regulation for it,” he said, referring to Islamic State by one of its acronyms.

“We cannot simply forbid people from traveling to Syria without clear reasons; because it is not against the law,” he said.

“This whole time we’ve been able to make [IS-related] arrests only when they concern other crimes — such as [passport] forgery and [terrorism] funding.”

Another priority focus will be to secure industrial activities from “thuggery and anarchic labor strikes,” including labor activists’ common practice of forcing other workers to join their strikes, Badrodin said.

“Thuggery by individuals and groups are problems for investment in the country,” he said.

“Forcing or pressuring industries [to do things] can destabilize the investment climate. Therefore, it will be among the National Police’s priorities to protect industrial zones.

“Labor activists may express their opinions, but they cannot force other laborers to join their strikes,” he added.

Badrodin said structural reforms, anti-corruption programs and improving the welfare of police personnel would be among his other priorities during his 15 months in office.

Badrodin, 56, is due to enter retirement in July next year.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Badrodin would probably be sworn in as the police chief at an inauguration ceremony at the State Palace in Central Jakarta today.

House Speaker Setya Novanto said the House’s endorsement of Badrodin was expected to ease the work of the police in securing the upcoming 60th anniversary commemorations of the Asian-African Conference in Jakarta and Bandung next week, which more than 30 world leaders and more than 60 foreign delegations are expected to attend.

Badrodin’s appointment will officially end a three-month-long period of a police force without a chief after Joko removed Gen. Sutarman from office on Jan. 16, despite his not being due for retirement until October.

Indonesia Corruption Watch researcher Emerson Yuntho on Thursday expressed concern that the appointment of Badrodin, seen by many to be close to the ousted nominee Budi, would pave the way for the latter to become the deputy police chief — although public resistance to him remains high.

The police chief has the authority to appoint his own deputy, not needing approval from either the president or the House.

If Budi is appointed his deputy, he will be able to assume the position of police chief, again without House vetting, when Badrodin’s term ends.

Police Arrest Four for Banknote Scam and Confiscate $1.2 Billion of Counterfeit Currency

Jakarta Globe, Farouk Arnaz, Apr 09, 2015

United States one dollar bills. Indonesian investigators confiscated counterfeit
Singapore, Canadian, Brunei, Hong Kong and American dollar bills to foil a
counterfeiting ring worth more than Rp 16 trillion. (Reuters Photo/Gary Cameron)

Jakarta. The National Police have arrested four people in Bogor and Tangerang for their alleged involvement in a money counterfeiting operation worth more than Rp 16 trillion ($1.2 billion).

Investigators confiscated counterfeit Singapore, Canadian, Brunei, Hong Kong and American dollar bills, as well Euro banknotes, according to Sr. Cmr. Victor Simanjuntak, the chief of the National Police’s economic crime division.

Bills from the Deustche Bundesbank (Germany’s central bank) and a range of out of print currency from British Malaya and Borneo, and the Dutch East Indies, were also found.

“We confiscated over Rp 16 trillion ($1.2 billion) counterfeit money in various currencies in West Java,” National Police spokesman Sr. Cmr. Rikwanto said on Thursday.

Police monitored the suspects — who have been identified as Tohir, Asep Abdul Fathi, Musa Suhi and Mad Mahdi  — for about a month between Feb. 25 and the end of March, before carrying out the arrests.

A computer, three printers, a cutter, and other equipment used to counterfeit the money has also been taken by police.

The four could each face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

President Joko Widodo to Discuss Budi Gunawan Fiasco With Lawmakers

Jakarta Globe, Carlos Paath & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Apr 05, 2015

Former National Police chief candidate Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan. (JG
Photo/Afriadi Hikmal)

Jakarta. President Joko Widodo is expected to discuss the canceled nomination of Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as National Police chief in a meeting with senior lawmakers scheduled for Monday.

Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo on Sunday confirmed that he, chief security minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno, Justice Minister Yasonna Laoly and State Secretary Pratikno would be in attendance, along with House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto and his four deputies.

The meeting will discuss the controversy surrounding the canceled nomination of Budi as police chief after he was named a bribery suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in January, according to Trimedya Pandjaitan, deputy head of the House’s Commission III, overseeing legal affairs.

Joko settled on Budi as his sole candidate for National Police chief despite a red flag on his personal financial reports issued by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center, or PPATK, in 2010.

Lawmakers approved the president’s decision a day after the KPK officially declared Budi a graft suspect.

Joko finally withdrew his nomination following a mounting public outcry, a move lawmakers considered a deviation from the House’s orders.

Meanwhile, police dug up cold cases against all four KPK commissioners and dozens of investigators.

The sudden onslaught of cases, some of them a decade old and all leveled on dubious grounds, raised accusations of a retaliation by the police.

Trimedya, a senior politician with Joko’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, sees the meeting as a progressive step forward in the matter, saying: “Joko is ready to meet and consult with [lawmakers] to discuss these issues.

“He must remember that as president, it is his duty to maintain a smooth avenue of communication within the government,” he added.

Today’s meeting will be Joko’s first audience with lawmakers since his inauguration in October last year.

Scores of Seafood Slaves in Indonesia, Officials Turned Blind Eye: Report

Jakarta Globe, Tri Listiyarini, Apr 05, 2015

Maritime and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti says she will closely monitor
 fishing companies operating in Indonesia to prevent slave labor. (Reuters
Photo/Tim Wimborne)

Jakarta. Maritime and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti pledged to closely monitor fishing companies operating in Indonesia after a year-long Associated Press investigation revealed at least one Indonesian firm — and likely many more — using slave labor.

Susi said she was disturbed to learn Pusaka Benjina Resources had been keeping 327 workers, mainly from Myanmar, working in captivity without pay, on pain of torture or even death.

Her office has since shut down the company, based in Benjina, in Maluku’s Aru Islands district.

“We will launch an investigation; we will sanction [those involved],” the minister said on the sidelines of her visit to a fishing village in Pangandaran, West Java.

“In Benjina, even though the victims are foreigners, Indonesia felt it must take action because [the case] happened within Indonesia’s jurisdiction,” she said.

Susi said her office quickly inspected other fishing companies operating in Benjina and found 1,185 fishermen working there, mostly from Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar, in slave-like conditions.

The minister said there was rampant evidence that other firms in the area were using slave labor — and had been for years.

With the help of sympathetic locals, the AP interviewed the Myanmar workers, who said they were forced to work 22 hours a day, whipped with toxic stingray tails, denied any pay, and barred from returning to their home country or tell anyone about their plight. Some were put in cages.

The director general for monitoring maritime resources, Asep Burhanuddin,  said the ministry formed a task force with the local prosecutors, immigration offices, the Indonesian Navy and National Police.

On Friday, days after the story broke, task force officials deployed to Benjina for a crackdown.

“We were able to confirm that there are slavery practices [at PBR],” Asep told Detik on Sunday. “Some were electrocuted for the tiniest mistake like falling to sleep. This is inhumane.”

The workers, some of whom have been slaves for nine years, were taken to the Tual, some 100 kilometers west of Aru Islands, where they were repatriated.

Company officials have been charged with human trafficking and violating the Manpower Law while the task force investigates who else may have been involved.

Jokowi Pleads for ‘Harmony’ Between KPK, Police

Jakarta Globe, Fana F.S. Putra & Ezra Sihite, Mar 04, 2015

The police in the past few weeks have been digging up cold cases against
 all four KPK commissioners and dozens of investigators, amid heightened
tensions between the two groups. (Antara Photo/M. Agung Rajasa)

Jakarta. President Joko Widodo has said that he wants harmony between the Corruption Eradication Commission and the country’s other law enforcement agencies, a move that many say undermines the credibility of the antigraft body and provides impunity for corrupt law enforcers.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with BeritaSatu TV aired late on Tuesday, Joko said it was important for the antigraft agency, known as the KPK, to cooperate with the National Police and the Attorney General’s Office.

“They must go hand in hand, help each other. They must create a synergy in the fight against corruption. This must be the focus,” he said. “If these cooperations are established … there are a lot of things we can do to combat corruption. But if [each institution] follows its own ego, working alone, not sharing

information, then this is what happens.”

Joko was referring to tensions between the KPK and the National Police spurred after the former charged Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, formerly Joko’s sole pick for police chief, as a suspect for bribery and money laundering on Jan. 12.

Since then, police have been digging up cold cases against all four KPK commissioners and dozens of investigators.

The sudden onslaught of cases brought by the police, some of them a decade old and all leveled on dubious grounds, has raised accusations of a retaliation by the police against the KPK over the Budi fiasco.

The now suspended KPK chief Abraham Samad has been charged with allegedly helping a prominent graft convict receive a reduced sentence last year in exchange for political backing from the convict’s party to support Abraham’s alleged bid to become vice president.

In a separate case, the South Sulawesi Police charged Abraham with document forgery after he allegedly falsified a document to help a woman, Feriyani Lim, apply for a passport in 2007.

Suspended KPK deputy chief Bambang Widjojanto is accused of compelling witnesses to commit perjury in an election dispute case that he handled as a lawyer in 2010.

Tensions eased after Joko dropped Budi’s nomination and appointed current police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti as his sole candidate for the post.

But Joko also suspended Abraham and Bambang from active duty, replacing them with three interim chiefs one of whom also temporarily replacing former deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas, whose term expired last December.

Joko admitted that the interim chiefs were named based on their ability to quell tensions with the police.

“The KPK and the National Police must be saved as law enforcement institutions. This is the problem I have to sort out. But we realize that there is no policy or decision that can satisfy all,” he said.

KPK investigators and staffers were among the people who are unhappy with Joko’s decision, calling the interim chiefs “ghosts who are afraid of the police.”

The interim leaders submitted their case against Budi to the Attorney General’s Office on Monday, with interim chairman Taufiequrachman Ruki saying the KPK had “lost” in trying to go after the controversial police general.

Ruki was referring to a ruling last month by the South Jakarta District Court in a pretrial motion filed by Budi, which found that the KPK’s naming of Budi as a suspect was invalid.

Interim KPK commissioner Johan Budi appeared to hint on Monday that handing over Budi’s case to the AGO was done largely to stop the wave of retaliatory attacks by the police against the KPK.

“The situation inside the KPK is uncomfortable … because of all of these [police] summonses. Therefore, steps must be taken quickly by the KPK,” he said at the AGO headquarters in South Jakarta.

Another interim KPK commissioner, Indriyanto Seno Adji, said the handover was the legal option that “carries the least amount of risk” for the KPK.

The development has sparked anger from antigraft activists and supporters of the KPK, which has a 100 percent conviction rate against every individual it has ever named a suspect throughout its 12-year history.

Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo has already indicated his office will not pursue the case against Budi, potentially emboldening corruption suspects to file pretrial motions to have charges against them dropped before they are even indicted in a court.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion,” Prasetyo said of the controversy surrounding the hand over. “But we have a mechanism to follow.”

In an indication that the handing over of the case to the AGO was nothing more than a bargaining tool, police deputy chief Badrodin said they would likely drop all pending investigations into KPK commissioners and investigators except Abraham and Bambang.

Meanwhile, State Islamic University rector Komaruddin Hidayat dismissed Joko’s harmony argument, saying that the National Police and the Attorney General’s Office are rife with corruption.

“The police’s impact on the fight against corruption is nothing compared to the KPK’s,” the scholar said.

On Wednesday, dozens of former KPK commissioners and advisers visited the KPK office, expressing disappointment with its current leadership.

“All KPK alumni agree [that the KPK] should lodge a case review [to the Supreme Court on Budi’s case]. If not, then there will be a huge problem for Indonesia’s legal system,” former KPK adviser Abdullah Hehamahua said.

Johan Budi Ready to Lead Corruption Watchdog

Jakarta Globe, Feb 19, 2015

Johan Budi has been appointed as a temporary commissioner of the
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). (Antara Foto/Reno Esnir)

Jakarta. Newly appointed anti-graft agency commissioner Johan Budi says he is ready to lead the organization and hopes changes made by President Joko Widodo on Wednesday signal a new era in relations with the National Police.

Johan was one of three temporary substitutes named to take the place of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chief Abraham Samad, deputy chief Bambang Widjojanto and Busyro Muqoddas, whose term expired last year.

The president announced he would temporarily suspend Abraham and Bambang while they were being investigated by police.

Johan, who is the KPK’s deputy for corruption prevention, said he told Vice President Jusuf Kalla during a late-night phone call on Wednesday that he was ready to lead.

Johan said he believed Wednesday’s press conference showed Joko had decided to reset relations between the KPK and National Police.

During the televised press conference the president also announced he would drop graft suspect Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as candidate for National Police chief. Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, the acting National Police chief, has been nominated for the role instead.

Relations between the police and KPK have hit new lows over the past few weeks. Leaders from the KPK have been announced as criminal suspects in a range of historic cases, which many observers have concluded is retaliation for their decision to name Budi Gunawan a graft suspect.

Lawyers: KPK’s Bambang Widjojanto Should Face Bar Association, Not Police

Jakarta Globe, Yustinus Paat, Feb 13, 2015

A silhouette photo of KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto as he makes a
 speech at Da’wah Center Building Muhammadiyah in Menteng, Jakarta on Feb. 8,
2015. (Antara Photo/Wahyu Putro A.)

Jakarta. Lawyers of antigraft deputy Bambang Widjojanto said the perjury allegations against their client should be heard by an ethics tribunal of the Indonesian bar association instead of the National Police, arguing that the case is closely linked to Bambang’s role as a lawyer.

Police have charged Bambang, a deputy chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), with compelling witnesses to commit perjury in a 2010 election dispute hearing. Bambang served as a lawyer for one of the candidates involved in the dispute.

“After reviewing [the police investigation against Bambang], the case is linked to his work as a lawyer,” said lawyer Abdul Fikar Hajar.

This would make the KPK deputy subject to the 2003 Law on Advocates, which protects him from any criminal charges, Abdul said.

Abdul added that the case should be heard by the Indonesian Advocates Association, Peradi, instead of being investigated criminally by the National Police.

“The bar association has the authority to determine whether a lawyer performed within the perimeters of the law,” he argued. “Therefore, Peradi must communicate with the National Police so they can take over the case.”

The investigation against Bambang is widely believed to be a retaliatory attack on the KPK for its decision to name Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, a National Police chief candidate, a graft suspect last month.

The police have since opened cases on other KPK commissioners.

Bambang’s lawyer and chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation Alvon Kurnia Palma said Peradi secretary general Hasanuddin Nasution has already signed a petition for the bar association to take over, and he was “now waiting for the signature of Peradi chairman Otto Hasibuan.”

Such a transfer of authority is not uncommon, said Abdul, citing eight previous cases in which Peradi took jurisdiction.

Top Cop Tells Press Pack to Calm Down Over KPK Treatment

Jakarta Globe, Farouk Arnaz & Ezra Sihite,  Feb 12, 2015

Deputy police chief Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, right, shakes hands with former
police chief Gen. Sutarman in January. (Antara Photo/Sigid Kurniawan)

Jakarta. The deputy chief of the National Police, Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, has lashed out at the media for sensationalizing the police’s relationship with the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK.

Badrodin said that media reports of the police threatening or intimidating KPK commissioners and other staff were entirely misplaced.

“It’s really disturbing,” Badrodin said on Thursday at the National Police headquarters. “You [journalists] are accusing the National Police. How could I not feel bothered?”

Badrodin claimed the police were between a rock and a hard place because any police attempt to effectively go anywhere near the KPK’s South Jakarta headquarters was met with accusations it was attempting to raid the premises.

“When we secure a demonstration, people say that we are raiding [the KPK],” he said. “Every time there’s police [near the KPK], they say that we’re terrorizing the KPK.”

The police and the KPK remain at loggerheads while President Joko Widodo decides how to proceed after having nominated Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan to become the next chief of police, only to see him become entangled in legal problems.

Budi was named a corruption suspect by the KPK just days after Joko’s nomination, setting in train a series of events that appear to be aimed at undermining the KPK and which have eroded yet more trust in Indonesia’s police force. Police are currently pursuing a host of old legal cases against the entire KPK leadership.

KPK Deputy Bambang Answers Police Summons for Questioning

'Even if I have to die, I'll do it, but I believe that God is with the righteous'

Jakarta Globe, Fana FS Putra, Feb 03, 2015

KPK deputy chief Bambang Widjojanto. (Antara Photo/Fanny Octavianus)

Jakarta. Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chief Bambang Widjojanto on Tuesday answered a National Police summons to be questioned in a five-year-old case related to a local election dispute.

Upon his departure from the KPK headquarters in South Jakarta, colleagues gathered in front of the building to send him off. The KPK employees were dressed in black and gave flowers to Bambang as a symbol of their support.

“I’ll return soon so please don’t take it too seriously. Thank you for the support,” he said.

Bambang claimed that by coming to the National Police Headquarters, he was setting an example of what a good law enforcer would do.

“I, as a leader of a law enforcement body, will come and show our class. I’ll show that law enforcers should obey the law,” he said.

He added that the allegations and threats he and his fellow KPK leaders are facing are an occupational hazard that they have to bear.

“Even if I have to die, I’ll do it, but I believe that God is with the righteous,” he said. “The prayers of the poor and the victimized will save the country.”

KPK chief Abraham Samad echoed Bambang’s statement.

“What is happening to Bambang and other KPK leaders is a risk we have to take on this long journey to eradicate corruption in this country. Let’s pray for the KPK’s survival. May it always be as strong as it is today,” he said.

Bambang has been named a suspect by the police for allegedly making false statements during a hearing on a local election dispute at the Constitutional Court back in 2010, when he was working as a lawyer.

He was arrested on Jan. 23 while taking his child to school, but released the next day. However, the investigation continues.

Widodo Promises to Act on Police Chief Spat as Popularity Hit

Jakarta Globe, Neil Chatterjee and Yudith Ho, Feb 03, 2015

President Joko Widodo welcomed a Japanese business delegation at the
palace on Monday. (Antara Photo/Widodo S. Jusuf)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo will decide this week whether to stick with a controversial pick for police chief, an episode that has undermined his political support and put his graft-fighting credentials in question.

“I hope this week I will decide,” Widodo, known as Jokowi, said Monday in an interview in his office at his Dutch- colonial era residence in Jakarta. Asked which way he was leaning, Jokowi laughed and replied “you’ll know after I decide.”

Just days after Jokowi, 53, announced Budi Gunawan as his choice for police chief, the anti-graft agency named the three- star general a corruption suspect. Jokowi said Jan. 16 he had “postponed but not canceled” the nomination while the agency investigated Gunawan, prompting criticism from anti-graft activists.

Jokowi, a former small businessman who rose through the ranks of local government without the support of the major parties, became president after a campaign pledging zero tolerance on corruption and staking his reputation as a reformer.

Three months into his term the furor over his police chief pick threatens to become a distraction from his broader policy agenda in a parliament where he lacks a majority.

Faced with a public backlash if he proceeds with Gunawan, and with spiking tensions between the anti-graft agency known as the KPK and the police, as the police retaliate by moving against two senior KPK officials, Jokowi said he would uphold the rule of law. “I must respect the legal process,” he said.

The rupiah gained 0.4 percent, the most in two weeks, as investors look for a quick conclusion to the dispute following Jokowi’s comments, said Gundy Cahyadi, an economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd. in Singapore.

Police Investigations

As the KPK investigates Gunawan, police have begun probes into senior officers at the anti-graft body.

Police are examining a complaint against KPK chairman Abraham Samad related to the issuance of a passport, said Ronny Sompie, a spokesman for the national police, and are looking at his meetings with politicians from Jokowi’s party. Samad was touted as a potential vice-presidential candidate for Jokowi last year.

Relations between the police and corruption fighters were once so marred by acrimony that dozens of officers barged into the KPK to try and arrest an agent investigating the chief traffic cop. Transparency International has described the police force as the nation’s most corrupt institution.

Ratings Slide

Gunawan’s ties to former President Megawati Soekarnoputri could complicate the decision-making process for Jokowi as he seeks to show he’s free from influence. Gunawan was a personal adjutant of Megawati, who was president from 2001 to 2004 and heads the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, the party that backed Jokowi. Jokowi appointed Megawati’s daughter to a post in the Cabinet.

With his popularity sliding, former Jakarta governor Jokowi dismissed the possibility of impeachment, which would need the support of more than three-quarters of parliament. “There is still support from our party, our coalition,” he said, sitting at a desk at Istana Merdeka — or Freedom Palace — in front of a bust of India independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid, known as Gus Dur and Indonesia’s first elected leader after the downfall of dictator Suharto, was impeached in 2001 after less than two years in power, following claims of involvement in financial scandals.

Fallen Popularity

Public satisfaction with Jokowi fell from 71.7 percent in August to 42.3 percent 100 days into his term, a poll late last month by Lingkaran Survei Indonesia showed. Of the 1,200 respondents, 53.1% were unhappy with his nomination of Gunawan for police chief.

“This sort of episode reminds us that he still needs to maintain a tight balancing act between the interests of his own party while maintaining his popularity in the public,” said Euben Paracuelles, an economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Singapore. “The longer Jokowi allows this to drag on, the more difficult it will be for him” to restore credibility on tackling graft, he said.

Jokowi downplayed the prospect of an alliance with opposition parties, having met last week with opposition leader Prabowo Subianto. Former army general Prabowo, Jokowi’s rival in last year’s presidential race, heads the Gerindra Party and his coalition has a parliamentary majority. Prabowo said in October he’d support Jokowi while being a critic on policies that would harm the nation.

Asked if the meeting could pave the way for an alliance, Jokowi said “there is no talk about that.”

Economics, Politics

“Last week when I met Pak Prabowo we discussed about economics and also about politics,” said Jokowi, who takes a break while in his car by playing phone games and listening to Megadeth, Metallica and Queen.

As Jokowi nears his decision, Gunawan missed an appearance at the KPK last week for scheduled questioning. A hearing where he will seek to have the case dismissed has been delayed to Feb. 9, Kompas reported on its website. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The KPK was set up in 2003 to put teeth into anti-graft efforts across the world’s fourth-most populous nation. It has a 100 percent conviction rate and prosecuted 72 members of parliament, six central bankers and dozens of chief executives in the decade since it was formed in 2003, earning it the support of ordinary Indonesians.

‘Save KPK’

KPK Commissioner Bambang Widjojanto submitted his resignation Jan. 26 after police arrested him for allegedly ordering witnesses to give false testimony to judges ruling in a local election dispute in 2010. Widjojanto will be summoned for police questioning Tuesday, Sompie said.

The KPK, citing Widjojanto, said on Twitter that its fight against corruption would not be silenced. After Widjojanto’s arrest, protesters gathered outside the agency’s offices, shouting “save KPK”. Jokowi now needs to restore trust, said Paul Rowland, a political consultant in Jakarta.

“Indonesians are pretty forgiving in the end, but it depends on whether he takes enough action on the things they care about,” said Rowland.

Whatever his decision on Gunawan, Jokowi will seek to return focus to his planned reforms, including changes to tax collection.

“As a president I must make sure everything must be on track,” he said. “It’s only been 100 days. My work is for five years, so there’s still a lot that hasn’t been done.”

Bloomberg