M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Anti-graft activists have deplored President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's move to involve himself in the conflict between the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra.
Activist Ridaya La Ode Ngkowe, deputy working board coordinator of the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), said over the weekend that Yudhoyono's involvement in the affair would set a bad precedent for future anti-graft campaigns.
"What Yudhoyono has done indicates that politics takes precedence over law enforcement, and that he preferred to resolve the Yusril-KPK row in a political manner," Ridaya told The Jakarta Post.
Yudhoyono intervened Friday in the week-long spat over procedural oversight in procurement projects by calling a snap Cabinet meeting to discuss the matter.
Ridaya said Yudhoyono needed to come up with a legal solution to the spat and not just help reach a political compromise between Yusril and the KPK's chairman, Taufiequrrachman Ruki.
"Instead, he decided to approve the direct appointments in government-funded projects carried by both sides," he said, adding that the decision contradicted a 2003 government regulation on government-funded procurement projects.
The likelihood of the conflict ending anytime soon, however, is slim with Ruki vowing to press ahead with the KPK's investigation of Yusril over the procurement of a fingerprint scanning machine, and Yusril calling auditors to launch an investigation of the anti-graft commission.
Yusril accused the KPK chairman of failing to hold an open tender in the procurement of wiretapping devices worth Rp 34 billion (US$3.7 billion).
Yusril launched the attack after being questioned by the anti-graft commission for violating the government regulation in the procurement of a Rp 18.4 billion fingerprint scanning machine.
The KPK also acted over suspicions that mark-ups and bribery were involved in the procurement project.
Speaking after the Cabinet meeting Friday, Yudhoyono said that appointing suppliers rather than holding a public bidding was sometimes appropriate under certain circumstances.
Meanwhile, executive director of the Indonesian Procurement Watch (IPW), Budihardjo Hardjowiyono, said that Yudhoyono's statement authorizing a direct appointment could set a bad precedent for future procurement projects.
"Officials, be they governors, regents or majors, could make similar decisions about not holding a public bidding in government-funded procurement projects as the President himself has done," Budiharjo told the Post.
The chairman of the Indonesian Procurement and Distribution Firms Association, John Palinggi, said direct appointments were closely related to corrupt and mark-up practices. "In Indonesia, some 63 percent of direct appointment cases show the tendency of corrupt and mark up practices," John was quoted as saying by detik.com news portal.
"We don't need to focus on the direct appointment mechanism as there is already a presidential decree on it. But we have to focus on possible accompanying corruption cases."