Emmy Fitri – As Golkar's Idrus Marham, a friend of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was being voted in on Friday to chair the House of Representatives special committee to investigate the state bailout of PT Bank Century, political experts and anticorruption activists were raising concerns that little would be achieved given the legislature's less-than-flattering history.
Siti Zuhro, a political researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the committee had become an opportunity for the political factions in the House to attempt to improve their images in the fight against corruption, as well as their perceived commitment to the rule of law.
"But at the same time it has turned into a conduit for political bargaining," she said, adding that from the very beginning of the process to establish the committee, "the aroma of political power plays has been thick with who will get what if the probe continues."
The push to establish the committee was launched by members of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and individual members of political parties allied to Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, which was initially opposed to the move.
However, in the face of growing public outrage over the murky bailout and a damning – if limited – report from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) that as much as 40 percent of the Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) in bailout funds was effectively illegal, the Democrats quickly climbed aboard, with the House overwhelmingly adopting the motion to establish the committee on Tuesday.
The Democrats were no doubt helped to arrive at their decision to support the probe amid the prominent roles of Vice President Boediono, the former central bank governor, and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in approving the bailout in 2008, as well as persistent rumors that part of the money managed to work its way into Yudhoyono's campaign coffers. Yudhoyono has rigorously denied any such claims.
Ardent cynics might very well say that a seat on the 30-strong committee could very well be a lucrative occupation given the money involved in the bailout and the wealthy client list of the former Bank Century, since renamed Bank Mutiara.
Investigating the case on behalf of the BPK, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) found irregularities in at least 59 transactions involving transfers from 44 personal and seven institutional accounts at Bank Century to 10 other banks. The value of those transactions totaled more than Rp 146.7 billion.
It is no secret that the House is plagued by corruption, including legislators demanding money or other gratuities from individuals who appear before various House commissions, with promises to go soft on them during questioning.
The various committees are also a good place to garner political power for use against political rivals.
The PDI-P, which is attempting to use the scandal to re-brand itself as a force for good in the war on graft, could use the investigation to help deflect attention from the role of party members in the corruption scandal involving the election of Miranda Goeltom as Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor in 2003.
On Thursday, former party member Agus Condro, who blew the whistle in the Miranda Goeltom case, gave the PDI-P a sharp reminder of the precarious line it is attempting to walk given numerous cases of corruption involving party members.
"Those who are connected with the flows of funds in the case of former Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor Miranda Goeltom should not speak about corruption, much less about the Bank Century case," Agus was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.
"It is illogical for those involved in corruption cases, and who are still being investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK], to speak up and even act as if they had never done anything wrong," he said.
Political analyst Sulastio, director of the Indonesian Parliament Center, said he still maintained hope that the committee would produce results, despite a string of failures during the 2004-09 period.
"The public is watching and their image is at stake now," Sulastio said. "I think if they attempt to divert or cause the probe to fail, we can outdo them by gathering public support." He said the House must also guarantee that all hearings were open to the public.
There has also been much speculation that Aburizal Bakrie, a former senior cabinet minister under Yudhoyono and the current chairman of the Golkar Party, could attempt to benefit from the case by helping to engineer the ouster of Boediono, or Sri Mulyani or both – and offering himself as a replacement.
Aburizal and Sri Mulyani are known not to get along and have previously clashed over the business dealings of the controversial Bakrie conglomerate.
Sulastio said he could foresee a situation in which Boediono and Sri Mulyani would be forced to fall on their swords, as has been speculated.
As for the potential impeachment of Yudhoyono should any wrongdoing be established, Sulastio said the scenario was unlikely, particularly given an amendment to the 1945 Constitution allowing for the direct election of the president. "The People's Consultative Assembly is no longer the supreme body that appoints the president so they cannot unseat him," he said.
Fadjroel Rachman, an activist from the Anticorruption Civil Society Coalition, said he only had a 50 percent conviction that the committee would reap results.
"The remaining 50 percent is for the Corruption Eradication Commission. If the two can synergize there are more chances for disclosing the truth and bringing those responsible to justice," he said.
He said the coalition, founded by activists and scholars, had "zero tolerance for anyone trying to cover up the truth using their political power within or outside the House."
He said it was natural that political parties were preparing to propose candidates to replace the finance minister or vice president, given that "there will be vacant positions in the government if the truth is disclosed.