Camelia Pasandaran – Political forces may be dirtying up and fracturing Indonesia's public anticorruption movement, an analyst said on Tuesday.
"The demonstrations are becoming more political rather than [focusing on] the effort to eradicate corruption or to solve the Bank Century case," Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a political researcher and lecturer, told the Jakarta Globe.
Large anticorruption protests have continued both inside the capital city and around the country in relation to the Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) bailout of Bank Century.
On Tuesday, dozens of people demonstrated outside the Vice Presidential Palace demanding that Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati step down from their positions over the controversy. A security guard outside the building said that more groups were expected to arrive later on Tuesday.
The demonstrators were members of the Anti-Neoliberal People's Command (Koran) and the Civil Alliance to Save People's Money.
"The Bank Century bailout should be investigated by questioning Sri Mulyani and Boediono, who have been at the source of the scandal," said Miftakur Rohmat from Koran. "For the sake of the legal process, they should step down."
The group was also calling for a purging of supporters of neoliberalism in Indonesia.
The release of details of the 2008 meeting in which the central bank and finance ministry officials decided to rescue Bank Century revealed that it was Boediono who pushed for the bailout despite opposition from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) and the Finance Ministry, which questioned the wisdom of the move.
During a weekend press conference, Boediono stood by his decisions in relation to the case. But neither his nor Sri Mulyani's defense against claims of misconduct have stopped daily protests.
Burhanuddin said that the demonstrations might be backed by political forces hoping to take the positions of Boediono and Sri Mulyani if they are made to step down.
"The reluctance of the two most significant anticorruption organizations, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and Transparency International Indonesia, to join the masses might have indicated that something is wrong," he said.
"Several groups are now asking Boediono and Sri Mulyani to step down. There are several groups riding along with the Bank Century scandal with various purposes."
Danang Widoyoko, chairman of ICW, told the Jakarta Globe last week that there were too many vague organizations present during the celebration of International Anti-Corruption Day on December 9, each with their own focus.
Some groups, he said, wanted the president, vice president and finance minister to step down over the Bank Century scandal. "The message of anticorruption itself may not be the focus," Danang said.
Burhanuddin suggested that it was better for the people who keep joining the rallies to avoid jumping to conclusions. "We should wait for the legal process to be completed," he said.
"The speculation is actually punishment for Sri Mulyani and Boediono. It's too early to make a conclusion. If they were proven to be guilty, then we could ask them to step down. But not at the beginning of the process."