Ezra Sihite & SP/Lona Olivia – The relatively light jail sentence for graft convict Angelina Sondakh was a slap on the wrist that will set a bad precedent and will not serve as a deterrent for corrupt politicians, an analyst says.
"The light sentence will not teach anybody a good lesson, especially when everybody knows that these were major offenses," Saleh Daulay, a political analyst from State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah, said on Friday.
Saleh said it was not surprising to see many people questioning the 4.5-year jail sentence and the Rp 250 million ($26,000) fine – a far cry from the 12-year sentence and the Rp 32.5 billion compensation sought by prosecutors.
The former deputy secretary general of the Democratic Party was found guilty over her role in two corruption cases, believed to have cost the state $3.6 million in losses.
"The judges seem to have bowed to political pressure and handed down a light sentence against Angie," Saleh said, referring to Angelina by her nickname.
He added that the light sentence could also reduce public confidence in corruption courts especially since Angelina wasn't cooperative during her trial. "The main goal in handing out a sentence is that it should serve as a deterrent to both the defendant and [others]."
Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, also chairman of the Democratic Party's board of advisers, said he respected the court ruling. Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said that the president also hoped that Angelina would accept the sentence.
Democrat lawmaker Nurhayati Ali Assegaf also asked the public to respect the court decision. "The media have made it seem like Angie has done something terrible. But legal facts are more important," Nurhayati said in Jakarta on Friday.
Nurhayati said she considered the sentence as just. "We must believe [in the court], we want to uphold the law, but through legal facts," she said.
Nurhayati said that Democratic lawmakers are planning to visit Angelina in jail to lend her moral support. "Hopefully she can get through this," she said.
Despite being handed a 4.5-year sentence, the House of Representatives' Ethics Council (BK) cannot yet dismiss Angelina permanently as a lawmaker. BK chairman M. Prakosa said that it would only be able to dismiss the former beauty queen after the finalization of the entire legal process.
Prakosa said that Angelina can still appeal her sentence and that if she did, the BK would have to wait for the court's verdict before it could dismiss her.
Angelina was accused of taking about Rp 12.5 billion in kickbacks from disgraced Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin's Permai Group to steer a host of contracts to Nazaruddin's shell companies. She was also accused of receiving $2.3 million in a separate graft case involving the National Education Ministry.
Angelina, who looked glum in her previous court appearances, looked relaxed and relieved with her verdict on Thursday. Her lawyer, Teuku Nasrullah, said that his client was relieved that judges handed down a comparatively light sentence.
Angelina, who had previously asked to be placed under house arrest so that she could take care of her children, claimed in an earlier hearing that she was merely the victim of an elaborate and vicious scheme.
"I am the victim of a grand scenario with me as the scapegoat, which was conducted through someone or several conspirators who were hiding behind the guise of justice collaborators," she said, referring to Mindo Rosalina Manulang, a fixer convicted in a bid-rigging case at the Sports Ministry who has since agreed to act as a key witness in multiple bribery scandals.
Angelina claimed that Rosalina was not a genuine informant who wanted to cooperate with the authorities. She accused Rosalina of withholding key facts in exchange for payment from certain parties.
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) spokesman Johan Budi said the verdict against Angelina could serve as a base for the antigraft body to develop the graft cases pertaining to the Palembang athletes' village construction project and the Education Ministry.
He said that the cases will remain open because the KPK can still develop and validate key claims with the testimonies from witnesses and defendants.
In regard to the judges' decision to drop an additional graft charge against Angelina in the Education Ministry procurement project that could have forced her to pay back the state losses, Johan said the KPK respected the decision.
"Article 18 is actually the KPK's effort to recover the state's money from the alleged kickbacks received by the corruptor. But the judges ignored this," Johan said. He added that the KPK has not decided whether it will accept the verdict or appeal.