Rid AGO of corrupt officials: MPs

Rid AGO of corrupt officials: MPs

Abdul Khalik , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 06/17/2008 10:05 AM | Headlines

Lawmakers are joining the calls for the government to rid the Attorney General's Office (AGO) of corrupt prosecutors in a move to build up the institution's credibility.

A major bribery scandal involving businesswoman Artalyta Suryani and prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan should be used as a "stepping stone" to clean up the AGO, they told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

This could start with Attorney General Hendarman Supandji dismissing all his deputies implicated in the Artalyta bribery case, they added.

Legislators from the Golkar Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) agreed with a call for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to replace Hendarman should he fail to take swift action to overhaul his office to regain public trust.

"All the deputies mentioned during the Artalyta trials for their roles in trying to help the graft suspects avoid justice must be dismissed to face investigations," senior PDI-P politician Gayus Lumbuun said.

He said that besides launching an internal probe, the attorney general must also let the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) summon his deputies without intervening.

A series of Artalyta's trials at the Corruption Court have revealed the alleged involvement of top AGO prosecutors in attempting to help her and tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim escape justice. Sjamsul, owner of now defunct Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia, was a suspect in the embezzlement of trillions of rupiah from the Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds.

Last Wednesday, KPK prosecutors presented taped phone conversations between Artalyta and then deputy attorney general for special crimes Kemas Yahya Rahman, and between her and Deputy Attorney General for State Administration Untung Udji Santoso.

Artalyta confirmed the conversations, in which she sought advice from the two senior AGO officials on how to deal with the KPK.

The latest trial also presented a taped conversation indicating the role of Deputy Attorney General for Intelligence Wisnu Subroto in the bribery case.

The recordings were presented as evidence against Artalyta, who is charged with bribing Urip while he was leading an investigation into Sjamsul. Artalyta reportedly has ties to Sjamsul.

The KPK has alleged that Artalyta bribed Urip US$660,000 to ensure the BLBI investigation targeting Sjamsul would be dropped.

The uncovered roles of the senior AGO prosecutors in the Artalyta case drew condemnations from anti-corruption activists and legal experts who urged the government to dismiss them all.

Mahfudz Siddiq, who chairs the PKS faction at the House of Representatives, said the Artalyta case should be used by Yudhoyono as an "entry gate" to fight graft within the AGO.

"The KPK should summon all the top prosecutors to testify before the court so that the public would know the roles of each of them.

"If the court finds these high-ranking prosecutors involved in the case, then they can be declared suspects as well," he said.

Harry Azhar Azis of Golkar was of a similar opinion, saying the government had failed to resolve the BLBI cases and that the President should order Hendarman to hand over these cases to the KPK.

"The AGO must undergo a total clean-up to be able to handle such big cases. How can a law enforcement office resolve graft cases if it is corrupt itself?" he said.

Speaking to the press Monday, Hendarman vowed he would not protect his deputies from facing justice, and would let the KPK question them.

AGO spokesman BD Nainggolan said Deputy Attorney General for Internal Affairs MS Rahardjo would lead a team to start an investigation into all the prosecutors implicated in the Artalyta case for alleged violations of their code of ethics. (nkn)