Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) plans to widen its wealth-reporting system to target lower government and state officials rather than just those at the top.

"We want to expand the scope of the wealth-reporting system. Not only state officials, but also administrative ones will have to sign a statutory declaration," KPK chief Taufiequrrachman Ruki said Tuesday.

Speaking after a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the presidential office, Ruki said the expanded system would apply to officials at echelon III and above. Echelon III officials include bureau or division heads at state and government agencies.

"Because in many instances, these officials are the ones with strategic roles. Such as traffic division heads or intelligence division heads at police units, or land regulation section heads in the land office. For the military, we could go from lieutenants up," said Ruki.

Under the 1999 law on good governance, only specified high-ranking state officials are obliged to report their wealth regularly to the KPK.

Ruki said the proposed changes to the system were aimed at complementing the KPK's plan to broaden the use of a reversed burden of proof in pursuing corruption cases. He said the KPK was now hosting roundtable discussions to gather comments toward a draft proposal.

The government was expected to give its view on the proposal, and the plan could be enacted either in a presidential decree or a government regulation, he added. "The President welcomed the idea when I told him just now. He said he would agree to any measures that could help result in zero corruption," said Ruki.

During the meeting, Ruki also advised Yudhoyono to drop a plan to protect officials from facing corruption charges if they make ordinary mistakes. Such a move, he said, could dismantle efforts to combat corruption. He also criticized widespread statements by officials that the ongoing anti-graft movement has hampered development.

"Some officials say the government's budget is not being fully spent because they are reluctant to initiate projects that could lead to graft charges or jail. Others say the business sector isn't working because banks refuse to give loans out of fear that bad debts could result in corruption charges. That is misleading," Ruki said.

Reasons such as these were cited by government officials including Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who later initiated the drafting of a regulation that could be seen as protecting officials from graft probes.

Among the concerns over Kalla's planned regulation is that internal mechanisms at a government agency could resolve alleged acts of corruption without involving law enforcers, Ruki said.

These moves, he added, were being initiated by those who were disturbed that they could no longer freely "commit acts of corruption, collusion and nepotism and not see them as mistakes... they are spending state money and appointing their nephews or brother-in-laws (to handle state projects)".

"The President said he is happy with the corruption eradication measures. He said nearly 20 percent of the state budget has been salvaged from potential graft through careful attention.

"People are afraid, and if that means the state budget gets absorbed more slowly, the President said he was fine with it," Ruki said.