Miranda Case 'Will Not End Here'

Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita, Armando Siahaan & Ismira Lutfia, May 18, 2010

Golkar’s Hamka Yandhu, one of four lawmakers convicted of taking bribes. (JG Photo/Afriadi Hikmal)

With four lawmakers convicted on Monday for their part in the Rp 24 billion ($2.6 million) Bank Indonesia bribery scandal, all eyes are on the country’s antigraft body to see who will face justice next.

Johan Budi, a spokesman for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), said it was unwavering in its pursuit of suspects linked to the graft-tainted election of economist Miranda Goeltom as central bank senior deputy governor in 2004.

“We are still discussing the details of our next step — what to do and whom to summon. One thing for sure is that this bribery case will not end here,” he said.

On Monday, the Anti-Corruption Court sentenced sitting lawmakers Endin Soefihara, Dudhie Makmun Murod and Hamka Yandhu, and former legislator Udju Djuhaeri, to prison terms ranging from 15 months to two and a half years for receiving bribes to vote Miranda into the BI post.

The KPK had said that it believed 39 of the 41 lawmakers who voted for her had received bribes, but so far only four have been brought to justice.

Johan said the KPK was still pursuing Nunun Nurbaeti Daradjatun, a businesswoman and the wife of Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Adang Daradjatun. The KPK suspects Nunun played a central role in the distribution of 480 traveler’s checks worth a total of Rp 24 billion to the lawmakers.

But Nunun has so far ignored court summonses, with her husband and lawyer saying she is being treated at Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital for a mysterious illness that causes severe memory loss.

Anti-Corruption Court judge Andi Bachtiar said that Nunun could be tried in absentia if the evidence was sufficient.

Amir Karyatin, Dudhie’s lawyer, said the KPK should have first prosecuted those who allegedly handed out the bribes, including Panda Nababan, a senior member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

“After they have arrested all the people who initiated the bribery, then they can go after those who had received it,” he said.

Gayus Lumbuun, a PDI-P lawmaker from the House of Representatives Commission III for legal affairs, also said the KPK should have focused on those issuing the bribes. “How can [the KPK] punish the recipients first?” he said, adding that the law regarding the KPK mandated that it pursue suspects who initiated the graft.

The KPK should only be able to decide whether the money was a bribe by arresting and questioning the source of the funds first, he argued. “How can they punish someone when no facts have been established about why the money was even distributed?” Emerson Yuntho, deputy chairman of Indonesia Corruption Watch, told the Jakarta Globe that the KPK needed to find conclusive evidence about Miranda’s own role in the bribery case.

ICW has alleged that Miranda was well aware of the bribes being given in exchange for her appointment to the central bank. But Emerson said her exact role has “never been made clear.”

“The KPK needs to clearly define Miranda’s role in the case,” he said, adding that the commission should not hesitate in taking swift action against her should they find solid evidence that suggests she had an active role in the scandal.

Asked about whether he thought the KPK would pursue its investigations into Nunun, Emerson said that there was “a big possibility” that the businesswoman would face trial.