Nivell Rayda & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Corruption Eradication Commission took immediate fire on Wednesday after it announced it was halting an investigation of three former House of Representatives lawmakers from the defunct military faction because it had no jurisdiction to charge military officers, even though they had since retired.
Johan Budi said the commission, also known as the KPK, would forward the cases to agencies with the authority to prosecute them. The lawmakers are suspected of receiving Rp 1.5 billion ($165,000) in a vote-rigging scandal to elect Miranda Goeltom the central bank's senior deputy governor in 2004.
"There are two options. First we could submit all the evidence that we have to the Military Police," Johan said. "Second, the case could be forwarded to the prosecutors' office that has the authority to conduct a joint investigation with military auditors."
Navy Rear Admiral R Sulistiyadi, Army Maj. Gen. Darsup Yusuf and Air Commodore Suyitno, all retired, were former members of the now defunct police and military faction on House Commission IX, which at the time oversaw financial affairs.
The three, who were listed as active officers at the time, are suspected of receiving Rp 500 million ($55,000) each shortly after voting Miranda into the Bank Indonesia post.
Johan said the KPK was prohibited from investigating the three due to the Law on Military Tribunals. "The military has their own process and we respect that," he said.
Indonesia Corruption Watch lambasted the decision, arguing that the KPK could and must investigate the three.
"The 2001 [Law on Corruption] states that the KPK has the authority to investigate public officials, which include members of the House," ICW deputy chairman Adnan Topan Husodo told the Jakarta Globe. "The three were in their capacity as lawmakers when the bribery occurred."
The antigraft watchdog fears the military would fail to bring the officers to justice. "The military tribunal is infamous for giving only administrative sanctions against members charged with violating civilian laws. The tribunal also has a bad record when hearing graft cases. No member has ever been convicted for corruption before," Adnan said.
Usman Hamid, chairman of the human rights group Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said that military personnel had often escaped the reach of the law.
"There is no equality before the law when dealing with military officers. Corruption has long plagued the military and if the military is serious about reform, officers suspected of violating civilian laws must be tried in a public court instead of a military tribunal," Usman said.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) said on Wednesday that it was ready to launch an investigation of the retired officers.
"As soon as the investigation brief is handed over [from the KPK] to us, the TNI headquarters would give the case to be followed up by the Military Police," Rear Admiral Henry Willem, legal bureau head for the military, said on Wednesday.