Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday to get tough with the Religious Affairs Ministry and Forestry Ministry, which have appeared at the top of the antigraft body's list of most corrupt ministries.
KPK deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas said that Yudhoyono had yet to summon Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali or Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan as a follow-up to the KPK's concern that corruption at the two ministries would only worsen if no immediate action was taken.
"We have forwarded the results of our survey to the President, along with suggestions on the methods that could be applied to prevent future corruption within the two ministries. It is up to the President to choose which of those suggestions he wants to use," Busyro told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting at the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
In its report on corrupt ministries, the KPK recommended that the Religious Affairs Ministry suspend its registration of prospective haj pilgrims as currently there were around 1.8 million applicants.
The KPK is also looking into irregularities in the management of an Rp 80 trillion (US$8.29 billion) haj pilgrimage fund. The antigraft body previously announced that it had discovered irregularities in the management of around Rp 1.7 trillion in interest payments from deposits submitted by haj pilgrims to the ministry in 2011.
The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has also found irregularities within the ministry. The BPK discovered that the ministry had failed to account for Rp 16.62 billion out of the Rp 2.7 trillion earmarked for the ministry's Islamic Education Directorate General last year.
According to the KPK, the Religious Affairs Ministry was the most corrupt institution of 22 government agencies it surveyed in 2011.
The ministry received 5.37 points out of a possible 10, below the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, which received 5.44 points, and the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry, which received 5.52 points.
The KPK also found many irregularities at the Forestry Ministry. Busyro said that the Forestry Ministry had yet to report on the use of 89 percent of the total 157,000 hectares of protected forests throughout the country.
According to Busyro, the ministry was only able to provide a completed report on the use of 11 percent of the total area of protected forests.
"This is a serious problem. We have presented this finding to the President and other relevant officials [including from the Forestry Ministry]," Busyro said.
The BPK filed criminal reports on Tuesday against 26 mining and plantation companies with the National Police's criminal investigations division (Bareskrim). According to the reports, some of the mining companies, including both private and state-run firms, operated in protected forest areas without permits from the Forestry Ministry.
The Religious Affairs Ministry's inspector general, M. Jasin, did not return a call from The Jakarta Post when contacted on Wednesday.
House lawmaker Hasrul Azwar, who is a member of Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma's United Development Party (PPP), dismissed the KPK report. He said the ministry had submitted a complete report on the management of the haj fund.
"I personally think the Religious Affairs Ministry has been transparent in managing the haj funds. Therefore, I don't understand how the KPK conducted its study," Hasrul, who chairs the PPP faction a the House, told the Post. "The ministry always provides the best service for haj pilgrims," he added.