SUMMARY:

On Wednesday, March 4, Deputy National Police Chief Badrodin Haiti announce the force was looking to drop cases against inactive Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto. Haiti said that he would approach the individuals who filed the original complaints and ask them to withdraw the charges, but offered no guarantees that his lobbying efforts would be successful.

On Wednesday, March 4, Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama further solidified his position in the ongoing battle with the city council over the 2015 budget. Following a long discussion, Ahok obtained the backing of Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, who said that the draft he had received was legal and would be returned early next week. Ahok caused a stir by submitting the executive branch’s original budget request, which had been produced through a transparent e-budgeting process, rather than the city council’s version of the document, which contained Rp 12.1 trillion in “unsolicited” spending. City council members have threatened Ahok, an outspoken political independent, with impeachment for submitting an “undeliberated” version of the budget for Home Ministry approval.

On Wednesday, March 4, Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto told media that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo would release a presidential instruction (inpres) on Friday, March 7 to end the ongoing friction between law enforcement agencies in the fight against corruption. Though administration officials have been tight-lipped on the details of the document, they have hinted that it provides a significant focus on corruption prevention efforts. KPK Commissioner Zulkarnain told media that the anti-graft body had already launched widespread prevention efforts in cooperation with 13 government ministries and agencies in addition to its education and outreach activities. In 2014, following the introduction of a comprehensive e-learning module on gratuities, the KPK received more than Rp 2 billion through its online gift reporting portal for government officials, with an additional Rp 22 billion that was reported and found to be allowable under the law. Interim KPK Commissioner Johan Budi emphasized that prevention and prosecution efforts work in tandem and could not be separated.

On Wednesday, March 4, President Jokowi summoned Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly to the State Palace to discuss the formation of the selection committee tasked with nominating new KPK commissioners for the 2016-2021 term. Yasonna downplayed speculation that the president sought to accelerate the selection of new commissioners ahead of schedule, and told media the meeting was held to simply discuss plans for the process at the end of the year.

On Wednesday, March 4, KPK prosecutors argued before the Jakarta Corruption Court that a close confidant and accomplice of Anas Urbaningrum in the Hambalang Sporting Complex case should be sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison. Prosecutors also asked the court to order the defendant, PT Dutasari Citalaras director Mahfud Suroso, to return Rp 36.8 billion that he illegally got from the Hambalang project.

On Thursday, March 5, KPK investigators summoned former State Audit Agency (BPK) Chairman Hadi Poernomo for questioning as a suspect in connection to allegations that he provided illegal tax breaks for Bank Central Asia (BCA) in his capacity as director general of taxation from 2002-2004.The case is estimated to have caused Rp 375 billion in state losses.

Also on Thursday, March 5, the Judicial Commission (KY) summoned the head of the South Jakarta District Court, Haswandi, to testify in its inquiry into allegations of judicial misconduct against judge Sarpin Rizaldi in his handling of pre-trial proceedings in the case against police general Budi Gunawan. Legal teams representing the KPK and Budi Gunawan testified earlier this week. Judge Sarpin has been brought before the Judicial Commission on no less than eight prior occasions for allegations he accepted bribes in return for favorable rulings. The precedent set by Sarpin’s ruling has emboldened other graft suspects, including former lawmaker Sutan Bhatoegana and former Religious Affairs minister Suryadharma Ali to file pre-trial motions of their own. The so-called “Sarpin effect” expanded beyond corruption cases on Thursday, March 5, as a suspect in an illegal gold mining case filed a pre-trial motion for dismissal in West Kalimantan.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

Friday, Feb. 27 – KPK Commissioners meet with Jokowi

Friday, Feb. 27 – CSO coalition calls for firm presidential action and urges KPK to press forward

Friday, Feb. 27 – Inactive KPK Vice Chair Bambang Widjojanto skips National Police questioning, threatened with detention if he skips again

Friday, Feb. 27 – Jakarta Governor files complaint with KPK over city budget manipulation

Monday, March 2 – KPK hands over Budi Gunawan’s case to AGO

Monday, March 2 – AGO hands over Budi Gunawan’s case to National Police

Tuesday, March 3 – KPK staff stage protest in front of headquarters

Wednesday, March 4 – National Police question former Law and Human Rights minister Amir Syamsuddin in connection to online payment gateway

Wednesday, March 4 – National Police indicate willingness to drop caheses against Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto

Thursday, March 5 – Judicial Commission questions South Jakarta District Court head in connection to its review of Sarpin Rizaldi’s conduct.

IMPLICATIONS:

Although Deputy Police Chief Haiti’s efforts to see the charges against Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto dropped come as a welcome development in the institutional stand-off, the effort to convince the plaintiffs to withdraw their complaints raises interesting procedural and ethical questions. Given the fact that the police could drop the case for a lack of credible evidence, the lobbying effort appears to be as much a face-saving exercise as anything else. The police efforts to drop the case breathe new life into rumors that a barter was struck with the KPK to drop ongoing investigations into anti-graft investigators and leadership in exchange for relinquishing control of the case against police general Budi Gunawan. Officials of both institutions have flatly denied the existence of any such deal, though the public remains skeptical of the coincidental timing of events following Monday’s (March 2) high-profile meeting among law enforcement officials.

Jakarta Governor Ahok continues to gain public and much-needed political support in his struggle against highly suspicious insertions into the 2015 city budget. With yesterday’s (March 4) statement from Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo that the e-budgeting version of the 2015 city budget he received was valid, Ahok appears to have turned a major corner in the stand-off with the city council.

Although Jokowi’s presidential instruction (inpres), expected to be released late this week, has attracted media attention on speculation that it will relegate the KPK to a strictly preventative role, this speculation overlooks the fact that the KPK’s enforcement role is protected in the 2002 KPK law. More likely, the impress could be used as a legal basis to reduce future budgetary support for the KPK’s enforcement efforts, leaving it with a significantly smaller pool of resources from which to launch investigations into high-profile graft cases. However, the KPK has been successful in combatting previous efforts to undermine its budget allocation, as was seen in the debate two years ago over the construction of a new KPK building.

As police pressure on KPK investigators has dissipated somewhat over the past week, KPK prosecutors continue to press for stiff sentences and asset seizures against prominent suspects. Efforts to bring those responsible for the disastrous Hambalang Sports Complex project should be applauded and continued to the full extent allowed by law. As one of the most widely covered cases in the country, the Hambalang fiasco highlights how insider trading, bribery, collusion and fraud continue to subvert public funding for private, political benefit, and as such, must be dealt with swiftly and justly. Movement on the Hadi Poernomo/BCA case, long dormant, is also welcome.

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