Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) must rid itself of the "invisible hands" hampering its fight against corruption, a workshop heard here Tuesday.
To make it a credible force in the battle against graft, the KPK should eradicate corrupt practices within its office, lawmaker and legal expert Moh. Mahfud MD told the forum.
He said there were indications that information had been leaked to corruption suspects before the commission conducted raids on their homes and/or offices as part of investigations.
Mahfud, a lawmaker with the National Awakening Party and a member of the House of Representatives' Commission III on law and human rights, cited the case of convicted former State Logistics Agency (Bulog) head Widjanarko Puspoyo. Some officials may have leaked relevant information to Widjanarko about the schedule of a planned raid on his office, Mahfud said.
"Widjanarko managed to elude investigators several times because he knew when the KPK would investigate at his office," he told the workshop organized by Indonesia Corruption Watch.
The South Jakarta District Court sentenced Widjanarko on Monday to 10 years in prison for corruption that cost Rp 79 billion (US$8.59 million) in state losses. He was ordered to return the money and was fined Rp 500 million. Widjanarko said he would appeal the verdict.
A few years ago, another KPK investigator was convicted of corruption for taking a bribe from a suspect he was investigating.
KPK deputy chairman for the prevention division Waluyo could not confirm or deny Mahfud's statement against his office. "KPK has received no formal reports on this matter yet," he said.
Waluyo said the commission would take swift and severe action against anyone within its body proven to have leaked classified information of any kind to a graft suspect.
The KPK has strictly controlled all "important documents" and it is not easy for unauthorized staff to access key information on ongoing investigations, he added.
Mahfud also urged the KPK to be more efficient so it could resolve cases more quickly. From 2002 until June 2007, the KPK recorded 19,901 complaints, of which a third, or 6,213, were corruption-related. However, the anti-corruption court has sentenced only 59 defendants.
"There are two ways of achieving efficiency. First, the KPK should prioritize solving big cases and hand over petty corruption cases to other courts," he said. Second, he said, the commission should also closely supervise all legal processes.
The 2002 bylaw on KPK's authority stipulates the commission must investigate cases causing the state material losses of at least Rp 1 billion.
The one-day anti-corruption workshop, also attended by dozens of participants from provinces such as Riau, Aceh and Yogyakarta, also featured ICW coordinator Teten Masduki. (ewd)