At the end of their terms, a number of House of Representatives lawmakers have had to face the music at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) over allegation of fraud in the organization of the annual haj pilgrimage, in which former religious affairs minister Suryadharma Ali has been implicated.
After questioning three members of House Commission VIII overseeing religion last week, the KPK grilled commission chair Ida Fauziyah and three other members on Monday following allegations that Suryadharma had misused people's money in sending 33 people, comprising his relatives, ministry officials and lawmakers, on the haj in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
Such facilities, which the KPK has classified as gratuities, have been a common feature among House politicians serving from 2009 to 2014, as have corrupt practices thanks to their power to endorse government budgets and policies. The checks-and-balances mechanism to control the government has turned into a "give-and-take" scheme, in which the power of money is exercised to win political support.
The symbiosis explains the "Idul Fitri bonuses", worth US$200,000, that former Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) head Rudi Rubiandini handed to members of House Commission VII on energy through its chairman, Sutan Bhatoegana, last year. Sutan has been named a suspect in the case, with the KPK is currently investigating.
The public will remember the current House, whose term ends on Sept. 30, for its tolerance of corruption, not only because top politicians have been convicted for graft but also given its repeated moves to undermine the fight against corruption, as evident in the House's support for bills to weaken the KPK.
Sadly, although it is difficult to prove, many new lawmakers who will assume their seats in the House on Oct. 1 are suspected to have won their seats through vote-buying.
A survey jointly conducted by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and the Indonesian Survey Institute on June 1-10, found that most respondents deemed the 2014 legislative election worse than the previous election five years ago in terms of vote-buying.
Many disputes between fellow party members contesting legislative seats centered on allegations that one candidate poured much more money into their constituencies than the others to win the race.
New faces will mark the upcoming House, but they will not necessarily bring change or repair the legislative body's corrupt image, due to the control that central boards of respective parties will have under the 2014 law on legislatures. The law will reduce lawmakers to mere representatives of party bosses or, as apparent in most corruption cases involving politicians, money-making machine for their parties.
The Constitutional Court has cut the House's budgeting power to prevent lawmakers from enriching themselves and their parties, but as long as the political parties fail to end high political costs and get tough on corrupt politicians, the cycle of legislative corruption will beset the incoming House.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/08/19/editorial-graft-ridden-house.html