Harry Bhaskara, Jakarta – The anti-corruption commission has been unusually active in recent weeks but its work may vanish into thin air unless a crucial bill is passed into law this year.
Those arrested recently by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for alleged bribery might not end up in jail, anti-corruption scholar Denny Indrayana said in a discussion here Wednesday.
"This is a very important issue. The deadline for the Tipikor law is December next year. But failure to pass it this year will give the KPK no legal basis to punish those people," he said.
The Tipikor law is the yet-to-be-created Corruption Court Law. If the law is not passed by December this year, there is little hope of it ever being passed, because 2009 is an election year and new House of Representative members will be in place in April, he said.
"The new House members may not have the same priorities as the previous members," Denny said. "Hence, finalization of the law now is imperative."
Denny said he believed there could be a scheme to curtail the power of the KPK and failure to create the law would be its death knell. Even if the bill had reached deliberation stage at the House, he said, there would always be a danger of "legislative manipulation" that could put off its creation.
As an example, Denny said, the leader of the House task force could purposely divert the deliberation into another topic that might not have any connection to the bill, thus delaying the process.
"The House is one of the 'epicenters' of corruption in this country," he told the more than 400 discussion participants who packed into the university hall.
The bill is now being prepared by the government. Critics have accused the government is dragging its feet because of a preference for ordinary courts to handle corruption cases.
In December 2006, the Constitutional Court gave the government three years to create the Corruption Court Law. In May, the KPK pressed the government and the House to finalize the law before next year's elections.
The agency has been making headlines recently with a string of arrests including those of a senior prosecutor and a House member suspected of bribery to the tune of billions of rupiah. The suspects are now being tried by an ad hoc Corruption Court.
The discussion was held following the launch of two books by Denny, which are compilations of his press articles. The books are Negeri Para Mafioso (A Country of Bandits) and Negara Antara Ada dan Tiada (A Country Split Between Real and Unreal).
Also presenting their ideas in the discussion were Constitutional Court chief Jimly Asshiddiqie, University of Paramadina rector Anies Baswedan, KPK vice chairman Chandra Hamzah and presidential spokesman Andi Mallaranggeng. Communications expert Effendi Gazali acted as the moderator.