Rangga Prakoso – People who blow the whistle on crime will get sweeping new protections after the nation's key law enforcement bodies signed an agreement intended to bring high-profile offenders to justice.
Under the agreement, signed in Bogor on Wednesday, state witnesses will have the right to physical, psychological and legal protection. They will also be eligible for more lenient indictments and sentence cuts or presidential pardons.
The agreement defined state witnesses as the main actors in the crime they revealed and that the information they provide should be significant in helping to solve the case. It also said they must return any assets they obtained unlawfully.
The agreement was signed by representatives of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the National Police, the Attorney General's Office and the Victim and Witness Protection Agency (LPSK) in the presence of Vice President Boediono and Constitutional Court chairman Mahfud M.D.
So far, two people qualify for protection: Vincentius Amin Sutanto, who exposed tax irregularities involving Asian Agri, and Agus Condro Prayitno, a lawmaker who revealed bribes were made to get Miranda Goeltom appointed as senior Bank Indonesia deputy governor in 2004.
The KPK chairman and the attorney general have the authority to determine whether someone can be judged as a whistle-blower or state witness. "This will be set down in joint regulations," LPSK head Abdul Haris Semendawai said.
Under the agreement, Abdul Haris' institution will be responsible for protecting whistle-blowers.
Under the process for determining who will receive protection, the LPSK will submit a recommendation to the attorney general or the head of the KPK. "It will be then coordinated with the law enforcers to determine whether the concerned party was worthy of the status," Abdul Haris said.
A proposed revision to a 2006 law on witness protection is currently being prepared.
Abdul Haris has said that four options should be made available to so-called "participant whistleblowers": lighter sanctions, parole, remissions and immunity from charges. Under the current law, whistle-blowers are not immune from being prosecuted if they are involved in the crime they report.
Controversial police officer-turned-whistle-blower Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji last year unsuccessfully challenged the law after police, who were holding him in custody on corruption charges, refused to hand him over to the LPSK.
In September, the Constitutional Court ruled that even a whistle-blower deemed indispensable to cases could be prosecuted if he or she were involved in the crime.