Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) was again urged on Thursday to prohibit government officials from holding double positions in an effort to fight corruption.
Holding double positions can cause conflicts of interest among officials in state agencies, hampering efforts to build good governance, an official from the National Awakening Party (PKB) said.
"President SBY must also retract a statement he made allowing family members of state officials to run businesses," Ali Masykur Musa, who head the PKB faction in the House of Representatives, said at a year-end news conference.
Accompanied by PKB faction secretary Helmy Faishal Zain, Ali said business activities by family members of state officials would affect the transparency of the state's financial management.
He said bureaucrats still generally embraced feudalistic and paternalistic management styles, increasing the possibility of their becoming involved in collusion and corruption.
Though Ali did not name names, there are numerous high-ranking state officials holding more than one position. Vice President Jusuf Kalla was recently elected as the new leader of Golkar Party, the country's largest political party.
State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra is also the chairman of the Crescent Star Party (PBB), while Minister of Forestry M.S. Ka'ban is the party's secretary-general.
The former speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, Amien Rais, earlier said Kalla's election as Golkar leader could cause problems within the state administration.
Ali did say that Susilo's administration had so far shown its commitment to eradicating corruption, but suggested that law enforcers prioritize large graft cases that caused enormous financial losses to the state.
Many former council members have been jailed, are standing trial or are being investigated for corruption in regencies and provinces across Indonesia, which recently was ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International.
President Susilo has promised quick approval for investigations of high-ranking officials, including governors, mayors and regents, suspected of graft.
Despite the promise, the Attorney General's Office has come under fire from antigraft activists for halting investigations into high-profile corruption cases, including a Rp 331 billion case allegedly involving businessman Prajogo Pangestu.
Other closed cases include a Rp 300 billion graft scandal that allegedly involved businessman Robby Tjahjadi, a US$24.8 million graft case to which Ginandjar Kartasasmita was allegedly linked, a Rp 10 trillion graft case that allegedly involved Syamsul Nursalim and a Rp 12.9 billion case in which Tanri Abeng's name was mentioned.
New Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh has promised to reopen some of these cases.
Addressing the death of human rights campaigner Munir, the PKB faction demanded Susilo make the case a priority.
Susilo recently issued a decree establishing an independent team to investigate Munir's death by arsenic poisoning.
Munir died aboard a Garuda plane while traveling to Amsterdam from Jakarta on Sept. 7.
The PKB faction said it fully supported the establishment of an independent team to investigate the activist's death.
"The case must be thoroughly investigated, otherwise it will deter other human rights campaigners," Helmy Faishal said.