Anita Rachman – One of the lawmakers who initiated the House of Representatives inquiry into the Bank Century scandal has warned political parties could be aiming to slow further investigations.
Golkar Party lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo, a critic of the Rp 6.7 trillion ($743 million) bailout in 2008, said on Sunday there could be several attempts to interfere with the soon-to-be established House team that would monitor the Bank Century criminal probe and the initiative to the use the legislature's right to express an opinion.
Without going into detail, he told a discussion some political parties did not want to lose their power in the cabinet.
"The pressure is strong. It is possible that some parties will name people to serve on the monitoring team who do not understand the Bank Century case well," Bambang said. "We have also heard that some parties have warned their lawmakers not to sign the initiative to use the right to express an opinion."
On Tuesday, the House is scheduled to name the lawmakers who will compose the 30-member team that will monitor the ongoing investigation into the Century bailout by the National Police, Attorney General's Office and Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The team's task is to follow up on the House's conclusions that the government bailout was illegal and that a criminal investigation was needed.
Each of the nine parties in the House will propose names for the team, which will work for 60 days. The seats will be allocated proportionally.
Bambang, along with four other lawmakers who initiated the Century inquiry, on Tuesday also began collecting signatures for the legislature's so-called right to express an opinion, the first step toward impeaching Vice President Boediono, who was Bank Indonesia governor at the time of the bailout.
They need at least 25 signatures to bring the initiative to the full House. As of Sunday, 21 had signed up, compared with the group's stated goal of 100 names.
Eva Kusuma Sundari, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), told the Globe on Sunday that political interference was nothing new. Since the start of the scandal, several parties had removed lawmakers who were "too vocal" from the stage.
"Look at the National Mandate Party [PAN]. At first they seemed to support option C [declaring there was abuse of power in the bailout and recommending expanded criminal investigations], but they ended up with option A [which said the bailout was legal but warranted investigation of Bank Century officials and some in the central bank for alleged involvement in unspecified crimes]," she said.
Eva said the House should next focus on the right to express an opinion, instead of arguing about the monitoring team.
Bambang himself recently launched a book on the Century scandal in which he claims Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie asked party lawmakers to side with the state and find no wrongdoing.
But Maruarar Sirait, from the PDI-P, said the party would appoint its best lawmakers to the monitoring team.
Ahmad Yani, a United Development Party (PPP) lawmaker on House Commission III, which oversees political and legal affairs, said even if there was a slow down within the House because of interference, the commission would ensure law-enforcement agencies stayed on track.
"Actually, the commission has more authority because we can summon them," he said. He expressed disappointment at how the KPK was handling the case, saying it was slow and unfocused in following up the House Bank Century recommendations.