Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should heed the recommendations of his fact-finding team into the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) debacle, scholars and activists said Tuesday.
Most of them said the team's recommendations truly served the public's sense of justice. Transparency International Indonesia secretary-general Teten Masduki told The Jakarta Post he was pleased with the recommendations.
"I believe the team's recommendations are good enough, and it was also a great decision by the team to publicly announce the final recommendations," he said.
The debacle revolves around an alleged conspiracy between high-ranking officers at the National Police and the Attorney General's Office to undermine the KPK by framing two of its deputy chairmen, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, for bribery and abuse of power.
A mounting public outcry against the perceived criminalization of Bibit and Chandra forced Yudhoyono to establish the fact-finding team. In its final recommendation, delivered to the President on Tuesday, the team called for the charges against Bibit and Chandra to be dropped.
The team also recommended that both the AGO and the police be reformed, and that all high-ranking officers implicated in the conspiracy be punished.
Setara Institute executive director Hendardi said there was nothing surprising about the team's recommendations. "It's now up to the President to take concrete steps in following up on the recommendations," he said.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said Yudhoyono had called for more time to evaluate the recommendations before deciding on anything. Djoko added the President would make a final decision Monday.
TII's Teten said the President's cautious approach to the case was understandable. "The President might be trying to avoid accusations of interference in the legal process if he acts too quickly," he said.
"However, I must also warn that it would be very wise for the President to follow up on the team's recommendations in their original spirit."
Syafii Ma'arif, former chairman of the country's second-largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, said that should Yudhoyono opt not to heed the team's recommendations, the public's trust in the President could decline even further.
"The President must also use his conscience in approaching and interpreting the team's recommendations, rather than using the formal legal approach," he said.
Human rights activist Usman Hamid, however, said he found the recommendations wanting. "They're limited to administrative aspects," he pointed out.
"The President wouldn't have needed to establish a fact-finding team if its sole purpose was to recommend administrative actions, such as disciplinary measures." Indra Sahnun Lubis, a lawyer for fugitive Anggoro Widjojo whose graft case sparked the whole scandal, called the recommendations "rubbish".