While President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has pledged to root out persistent case brokers undermining law enforcement by the police force, the Attorney General's Office (AGO), and the judicial system, no attention has been paid to such practices directly affecting the House of Representatives, especially while it is investigating the high-profile Bank Century bailout scandal. The Jakarta Post's Ika Krismantari explores the issue. Here are the stories:

Former legislator Mufid A. Busyairi had become a standing joke among his colleagues when he returned bribe money worth Rp 100 million (US$10,600) to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in mid-August.

"I was a laughing stock among fellow lawmakers because the money were given to the KPK weeks before (the Islamic) Idul Fitri holidays when people usually need a lot of cash to finance the celebrations."

"But I just could not take them, they were not mine," Mufid told The Jakarta Post in an interview recently at his humble house on the outskirts of Bekasi, West Java.

While Mufid refused to reveal the identity of the broker who delivered the cash and the motives behind it, sources at the KPK said the bribe was allegedly aimed at undermining the 53 members of the House's inquiry and investigative committee on fuel distribution, subsidies and costs, assembled in mid 2008 after the government's widely criticized decision to raise fuel prices.

Mufid was among the committee member representing the Nation Awakening Party (PKB). The committee was headed by Zulkifli Hasan, now the Forestry Minister.

In its first two months of work, the committee launched a string of hostile criticisms against the government, the oil and gas regulators, and the oil companies, accusing them of corruption and collusion in fuel production and distribution.

These charges have eventually died down, leading the committee by September to simply make some general recommendations without discernible impact on existing policies.

The case involving Mufid and the fuel inquiry committee is just an example where brokers hired by vested interests may have played a role in undermining the effectiveness of an inquiry.

A lawmaker at the House's Commission VII for energy and mining, who requested anonymity, resaid the hired brokers have not only offered lawmakers bribes but also positions in the Cabinet and in lucrative and influential government offices, state companies and state agencies.

The lawmaker believed that due to this environment the ongoing inquiry to unravel irregularities in the bailout of Bank Century was likely to end similarly to previous inquiries.

"There will definitely be a deal proposed either by brokers or directly by senior politicians to end the inquiry, or to have the inquiry result totally neutralized," said the lawmaker.

According to the lawmaker there are at least two prominent figures actively brokering a deal in huge cases handled by the House.

One is a high-ranking official with an influential political party, mostly brokering on issues related to law enforcement, security, politics, and welfare. The other one is the spouse of a retired four-star general, usually dealing with issues related to business and economic affairs.

"They have numerous ways of lobbying and delivering the kickbacks. Sometimes directly to high-ranking party officials or through several sub-contracted brokers to get to several lawmakers," said the lawmaker, who is now working for his second term representing an Islamic-based party.

Both are so politically wired that they remain untouchable by law enforcers. However, the KPK is already targeting one of them for investigation into a bribery case involving former lawmakers.

There are also smaller and less influential players comprising government officials and executives of state and private companies, business associations, and journalists embedded within the House.

They deliver kickbacks for various purposes from preventing lawmakers raising harsh questions during a hearing up to revising or eliminating a clause in a bill to the advantage of certain interests.

In certain cases, brokers are battling each other for the highest bid to buy lawmakers. The most recent such battle involved the passing of a bill on transportation, deliberated late last year.

The police and the Transportation Ministry were deploying their chosen Chinese-descendant businessmen to bribe lawmakers as part of a struggle for the right to issue driving licenses.

Since decades, driving licenses has been among the lucrative "businesses" of the police force until the Transportation Ministry made a takeover bid attempt through a bill.

Eventually, the police won the in-fighting by keeping the authority to issue driving licenses intact under the Transportation Law endorsed in February. Both the police and the ministry have repeatedly denied any such allegations.

However, due to the huge scale of the distribution of bribery money, the KPK has identified some irregularities, currently investigating cases that may impact on more than 35 serving lawmakers.

Aside from dealing with bills, brokers are also called in during an election by lawmakers for top posts in government offices and state agencies.

The recent investigation by the KPK into several lawmakers for allegedly receiving bribes during the election of former Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor Miranda Goeltom is just the tip of an iceberg.

Approval for ambassador posts, selection for leaders of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) and even the KPK are tainted with deals involving brokers with lawmakers and government officials in exchange for various benefits.

Chairman of the House's ethics council Gayus Lumbuun acknowledged the existence of such brokers, revealing their types of intervention. He said the most obvious were usually lobbies from certain parties, either by brokers or lawmakers to influence decisions by other parties.

"Such action is difficult to identify, as to whether it is contaminated with bribes or (illegal) gains as... any lawmaker (can) change his mind during a discussion on certain issues," Gayus said.

He said the easiest way of spotting irregularities was when lawmakers forcefully revised a passed bill without this being initially agreed with other lawmakers. "This is easier to detect because there's hard evidence of the changes."

Another fellow lawmaker Tjatur Sapto Edy believed the scale of bribery was determined by the position and the depth of involvement of a lawmaker in certain bills and hearings.

"Inactive legislators may only receive hundreds of millions, while those having top positions may receive up to Rp 1 billion," he said. However, he added, the green light for receiving bribes was basically given by the party leaders.

Lawmakers' income

• Each legislator's monthly take-home pay: Around Rp 60 million (US$6.300), including various benefits
• Each legislator's annual take-home pay: Around Rp 1 billion, including extra benefits to deliberate bills, visit constituencies, visit project sites and take part in meetings
• Costs to become a legislator: Between Rp 180 million and Rp 5 billion

History of house inquiries (2004-2009)

1. Sale of two tankers owned by state oil and gas company PT Pertamina (2007)

Findings and recommendations:

• Request for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Attorney General's Office to investigate officials involved
• Indication of corruption in the sale
• Request for government to seek ways to get tankers back

2. Irregularities in fuel price increase, distribution and cost recovery in oil and gas sector (mid-2008)

Findings and recommendations:

• Require the government to revise the oil and gas law
• Re-evaluate the function of upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas and downstream oil and gas regulator BPHMigas
• Order the government to renegotiate existing contracts for the Tangguh gas block and Cepu oil field
• Require oil and gas companies to sell 40 percent of their output for local use

3. Haj management (early 2009)

Findings and recommendations:

• Request the president punish the religious affairs minister
• Request a revision in the haj law
• 2006 and 2008 haj management deemed a total failure
• Call for a law to manage haj financing

4. Constitutional right to vote (mid-2009)

Findings and recommendations:

• Require improved voter registration
• Require law enforcers to investigate election violations
• Require improved population census
• Call for General Elections Commission leaders to be replaced