SUMMARY:

On Monday, March 23, as members of the House of Representatives (DPR) returned from a three-week recess, calls mounted for the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to deliver a formal explanation as to why it had withdrawn support for National Police general Budi Gunawan as the next chief of police after the conclusion of confirmation hearings at the legislature. Lawmakers, including those from President Jokowi’s own party, PDI-P, have claimed that since the charges against Gunawan were dropped, former allegations of money laundering leveled at the police general were no longer a valid reason to drop his nomination. Deputy House Speaker Fahri Hamzah (PKS–West Nusa Tenggara) said the House aimed to schedule confirmation hearings for Budi’s replacement, police general Badrodin Haiti, as early as next week.

On Tuesday, March 24, The Jakarta Post reported that the South Jakarta District Court’s decision to adjourn for two weeks may provide the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) with just enough time to bring its case against former Democrat party lawmaker Sutan Bhatoegana to trial, invalidating the pending pre-trial motion for dismissal. The daily newspaper noted that Article 82 of the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) stipulates that a pretrial hearing becomes invalid as soon as a district court indicts a graft suspect. Sutan’s lawyers strongly objected to the two-week delay, saying that they filed the pre-trial motion before the case went to trial and therefore it should be given priority, despite the provisions of the KUHAP. Representatives from the KPK claim that their failure to appear in court during Monday’s opening was not a calculated decision, but stemmed from the fact that the anti-graft agency faces a total of four pre-trial motions in the next three weeks.

On Tuesday, March 24, a third pre-trial motion was struck down by a district court since judge Sarpin Rizaldi’s controversial ruling that saw the charges dropped against Budi Gunawan. A judge with West Java’s Sumedang District Court struck down a pre-trial motion filed by a local goat trader who was suspected of fraud. The ruling followed similar decisions from the Pontianak District Court and the Purwokerto District Court, finding that an individual’s status as a criminal suspect was not a matter for a pre-trial hearing, in accordance with explicit passages of the Criminal Code.

The former Bangkalan Regional Representatives Council (DPRD) speaker Fuad Amin Imron testified at the Jakarta Corruption Court (TIPIKOR) on Monday, March 23 as a witness in the ongoing trial against Antonius Bambang Djatmiko of PT Media Karya Sentosa (PT MKS). Fuad acknowledged that when he was serving as the Bangkalan regent, he received monthly deposits from PT Media Karya Sentosa (PT MKS), but he maintained that he did not know what the money was for. Fuad also admitted to the court that his previous statements to the KPK may not have been entirely truthful, due to a number of factors including age and illness, but refused to elaborate on which statements may have been less than honest. Fuad was arrested in December 2014 on suspicion of receiving Rp 18.85 billion in bribes in connection for awarding a natural gas contract to PT MKS. The KPK seized more than Rp 100 billion in cash and bank accounts from Fuad and his relatives in January, making it the KPK’s largest seizure to date. Investigators separately questioned the former politician on Tuesday, March 24 as a suspect in his own case.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

Friday, March 20 – KPK signs MoU with several ministries to examine corruption in natural resources sector

Friday, March 20 – Police indicate Denny Indrayana to be charged imminently

Monday, March 23 – Sutan Bhatoegana’s pre-trial hearing opens, adjourned until April 6

Monday, March 23 – House of Representatives returns from recess

Monday, March 23 – Fuad Amin Imron admits to receiving payments from PT MKS in gas deal

Tuesday, March 24 – KPK questions Fuad Amin Imron as suspect

Tuesday, March 24 – Sumedang District Court strikes down pre-trial motion in goat scam

IMPLICATIONS:

Members of the DPR continue to grumble about their endorsement of Budi Gunawan being discarded amid the public controversy following the KPK’s move to charge him with money laundering. Such discontent, however, is mostly symbolic and unlikely to derail the confirmation of Badrodin Haiti as the new chief of the National Police. Separately, the Red and White Coalition (Koalisi Merah Putih – KMP), which commands a majority in the DPR, has pledged to support the Presidential decree in lieu of regulation (Perppu) that instated the three interim KPK commissioners, clearing the way for their continued service at the anti-graft agency.

Though some procedural ambiguity remains about whether the KPK can avoid pretrial motions by bringing its cases to court earlier, the coverage from The Jakarta Post raises an interesting strategic question. If existing regulations, including the KUHAP, provide for a pre-trial motion to be dismissed once the trial begins, it may be an effective strategy for the KPK to pursue in order to overcome the rising tide of court battles it faces in the next few weeks.

Amid a number of pre-trial battles, the KPK continues to move forward in its investigation into Fuad Amin Imron, who remains boastful and defiant of claims he was involved in any illegality. His admission to receiving funds from PT MKS without reporting them already violates existing regulations on gratuities, and the assets seized by the KPK are highly suggestive of money laundering activities. A resounding conviction in Fuad’s case would help to restore the image of the KPK, both in the eyes of its supporters and its staff, who have been frustrated by the outcome of the Budi Gunawan case.

Information as of 5:30 p.m. WIB, March 24, 2015