Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Following the elections of at least five corruption suspects in district and regional polls, watchdog groups on Sunday called for the implementation of stricter laws disqualifying candidates suspected of financial foul play.
The number of governor, district chief and mayoral candidates named as suspects in graft cases may be much higher than the initial five reported, Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) member Bambang Eka Cahyo Widodo told the Jakarta Globe.
"I couldn't give you the number now, because there are many, and our election map is pretty wide... Some of them have run and have been re-elected, some are still waiting" for election results, he said. "However, I am sure the number is bigger than that reported by [Indonesia Corruption Watch]."
Last Tuesday, ICW released the names of five newly elected governors and district heads who were graft suspects. Rembang Chief Mochammad Salim is suspected in a Rp 35 billion ($3.92 million) graft case. Aru Islands Chief Theddy Tengko is suspected in a Rp 30 billion corruption case related to the district budget. East Lampung Chief Santono is a suspect in a Rp 107 billion budget corruption case from 2009. South Bangka head Jamro H Jalil is suspected in a Rp 338 million graft case while Bengkulu governor Agusrin M Najamuddin is suspected of Rp 27.6 billion in graft.
ICW called for the government and the House of Representatives to work fast in revising the Autonomy Law to add a specific article barring graft suspects from running in local elections.
ICW researcher Ibrahim Fahmi Badoh said the government should nullify the elections of any local heads identified as corruption suspects.
Bambang called the revision urgent, pointing to the 244 regional polls scheduled this year, and some 100 such races next year. "I think that if the government really wants cleaner local leadership, they should start now," he said.
However, Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi was quoted by his spokesman, Saut Situmorang, as saying that the ministry would only suspend the officials once they officially became defendants.
"Once they are in their positions and are declared as defendants, they will be temporarily suspended. And if courts find those corruption defendants guilty, [Gamawan] will quickly and permanently discharge them," Saut said.
The 16 current eligibility criteria for running in local polls include requirements that the candidates be at least 30 year olds, have a high-school diploma, have never been convicted of a crime punishable by more than five years in jail and possess good moral standards.
Golkar legislator Chairuman Harahap, who chairs House Commission II overseeing home affairs, criticized the "good moral standards" requirement as open to interpretation.
"We will look into this, because not all suspects are in the end found guilty," he said. "The House is still waiting for the government to submit the revision draft."
Chairuman said the revision of the law was a House priority for 2010.
Commission II Deputy Chairman Ganjar Pranowo, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said prohibiting graft suspects from running in local elections went against the principle of presumed innocence, but there may be room for such a move in some circumstances.
"We probably can apply that if it becomes pervasive, but so far, I don't see it. We don't need the article," he said.
Constitutional law expert Irman Putra Sidin told the Globe that naming a person a suspect was very easy, and a law barring suspects from running would be prone to abuse.
"A suspect is not evil," he said. "Don't you know how easy it is to name a person as a suspect?... Our law enforcement at the moment is still not healthy."
Irman warned against letting the zeal against corruption violate other principles of law. He said the biggest goal for those fighting graft should not be limiting individuals' access, but fixing the system.
"The move should be done with the president... At the moment our state management is still giving corrupt actors too much leeway," he said.
[Additional Reporting by Camelia Pasandaran.]