Trial of the Century

Posted by AsiaViews | Dec 18, 2017 | 0 |

The Jakarta Post

12 Dec 2017
When the Corruption Court heard on Wednesday the indictment of House of Representatives speaker Setya Novanto in connection with the e-ID card project, the nation can expect to watch the trial of the century, not only because of the amount of money involved, but also the big names to which Setya will lead the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The KPK is accusing Setya of enriching himself and others, and abusing his power as leader of the Golkar faction in the House in connection with the national program, which investigators believe incurred to Rp 2.3 trillion in losses to the state.

The KPK has named Setya a suspect for the second time after losing a pretrial battle in September and has detained him for fear he would destroy evidence. Setya, who is also the Golkar chairman, is resisting his prosecution. But when state prosecutors formally arraign him on Wednesday, his fight will be irrelevant, according to the Criminal Procedure Code.

Defendants in the high-profile graft case have testified against Setya in their respective trials, saying that the Golkar politician was a key player behind the embezzlement of state money. Graft convict and former Democratic Party treasurer who is allegedly the whistle blower in the e-ID card corruption case, Muhammad Nazaruddin, told the KPK that Setya arranged tender winners and beneficiaries by marking up the national project.

The Corruption Court has found former Home Ministry officials Irman and Sugiharto guilty in the case and sentenced them to seven and five years in prison, respectively, and is now trying entrepreneur Andi Agustinus, a business partner of Setya. The KPK has accepted Andi’s bid to act as a justice collaborator to disclose Setya’s role in the e-ID case.

The KPK will not rely on such a confession, but on incriminating evidence to convince the panel of judges to convict Setya. All the evidence will be unveiled, including the flow of money, which according to KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah, went to politicians and Home Ministry officials.

There have been questions about the goal of the KPK’s move against Setya, who in the past managed to slip through the antigraft body’s fingers in a number of corruption cases. Setya’s trial comes on the heels of a political year when Golkar badly needs a credible leader to regain public trust or crumble. The party is the first to have shown support for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s reelection in 2019.

To rebuff allegations about certain political motives behind Setya’s prosecution, the KPK investigation into the e-ID card case should not end with him. For sure, Setya does not want to go down alone. Therefore, the KPK should take measures against people Setya may name at his trial.

There is a risk Setya’s trial will open a Pandora’s box, which the KPK has to deal with if it is truly committed to eradicating corruption. The past graft trial of a political party leader or elite, however, used to stop at him or her, with the KPK unable or reluctant to link the case to the parties.

(http://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2017/12/12/editorial-trial-of-the-century.html)

About The Author

AsiaViews

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Neigborhood Watch

Subscribe To Newsletter

POINTS TO PONDER

EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

Trial of the Century