SUMMARY:

On Tuesday, April 28, inactive Corruption Eradication Commission Chair Abraham Samad was briefly detained after his interrogation by the South Sulawesi Police. He had voluntarily traveled to Makassar to undergo questioning in connection to the document forgery charges filed against him. In the afternoon, Samad’s lawyers urged the South Sulawesi Police to conduct a briefing on the case in order to challenge the evidence. After several hours of questioning, Samad was detained, and ultimatelyreleased at around 11:30 p.m. Interim KPK Commissioner Indriyanto Seno Adji said that he had coordinated with the National Police to clarify the situation. Joko Hartanto, of the South Sulawesi Police detectives division, said that Samad was detained because of concerns that he would repeat his alleged offense and attempt to flee. Joko also said that the case file would be sent to the district attorney’s office for prosecution shortly. Samad stands accused of falsifying a civil registry document that was in turn used by Feriyana Lim, a young woman from West Kalimantan, to obtain a passport in 2007.

Responding to yesterday’s Constitutional Court decision, which broadened the interpretation of Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) Article 77 to allow suspects to challenge the legality of their charges in pre-trial proceedings, the KPK said it was not too worried about the future impact. On Wednesday, April 28, interim KPK Commissioner Indriyanto Seno Adji said, “Since before the Sarpin effect, the KPK has always been ready to face legal challenges, so this isn’t something to worry about…lawsuits of any kind are not a form of legal drama but are something fair that the KPK will face with professionalism,” as quoted by Kompas. Interim KPK Commissioner Johan Budi added that the KPK planned to increase staffing levels in anticipation of the next wave of pre-trial motions.

Over the last two days, civil society organizations have raised concerns about the prospect of widespread corruption affecting the upcoming regency, municipal and provincial elections, slated to be held in more than 250 electoral districts in December. On Tuesday, April 28, activists in Kota Semarang staged a protest urging the local General Elections Commission (KPU) office to not allow graft convicts to run for office in upcoming local elections. In response, the office said its regulations prevent convicts who served more than five years for corruption from registering as candidates. At the same time, Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani warned that money from Indonesia’s Village Fund, created for community-level development programs, could be diverted for local elections unless strict procedures were followed.

On Tuesday, April 28, the KPK interrogated key figures in a number of ongoing investigations. Former Religious Affairs minister Suryadharma Ali was questioned regarding procurement processes and theallocation of the nation’s hajj quota.  Following his questioning, the KPK announced that his pre-trial detention period had been extended by an additional 40 days. On Tuesday, April 27, the KPK announced it had summoned a number of executives and staff of coal mining company PT Mitra Maju Sukses (MMS) as part of its investigation into the alleged bribery of House of Representatives’ member Adriansyah (PDI-P – South Kalimantan 2). While the PDI-P lawmaker was arrested in a raid in Bali, PT MMS director Andrew Hidayat was arrested in a separate operation in Jakarta on April 9. The KPK announced it had summoned Agung Krisdiyanto, the Menteng policeman captured in the Bali raid for his suspected role as the courier of the alleged bribe. In the wake of the raid, Krisdiyanto was released for a lack of evidence he had any knowledge of the contents of the package he was delivering. The National Police said it would look into disciplinary action against the officer for being absent without leave, but has yet to announce any further information.

On Wednesday, April 29, the KPK indicated it might be willing to cooperate with the National Police in investigating alleged corruption in the procurement of uninterruptable power supply (UPS) units reported by Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama. The police have charged two former Jakarta administration officials in the case, which is suspected of causing as much as Rp 50 billion in state losses. Outspoken Jakarta City Council member Abraham “Haji Lulung” Lunggana is scheduled to undergo questioning in the case on Thursday, April 30, following an earlier police search of his office.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

Thursday, April 23 – Inactive KPK Vice Chair Bambang Widjojanto undergoes police questioning

Thursday, April 23 – Budi Waseso confirms police likely to drop case against Budi Gunawan

Thursday, April 23 – State Secretary Pratikno confirms his office will take the lead in forming the KPK selection panel

Thursday, April 23 – DPR Commission III approves Perppu on interim KPK commissioners

Friday, April 24 – Budi Waseso denies Haiti issued instruction to release Bambang Widjojanto

Friday, April 24 – Budi Waseso hints that Denny Indrayana to face additional cases

Friday, April 24 – DPR plenary session approves Perppu

Monday, April 27 – Chatarina Girsang announces possible return to previous role at KPK

Tuesday, April 28 – South Jakarta District Court rejects Jero Wacik’s pre-trial motion

Tuesday, April 28 – Constitutional Court rules a suspect’s status may be challenged via pre-trial motion

Tuesday, April 28 – Inactive KPK Chair Abraham Samad briefly detained by South Sulawesi Police

Wednesday, April 29 – KPK indicates possibility of cooperation with National Police on UPS case

IMPLICATIONS:

Abraham Samad’s detention, albeit brief, reflects the tenuous nature of the relationship between the KPK and the police as well as a certain disunity among those attacking KPK. Following inactive KPK Vice Chair Bambang Widjojanto’s close call on April 23, this is the second time within the span of a week that the anti-graft agency has had to coordinate with the police to arrange the release of its otherwise cooperative staff. Should this trend continue, the detention of former deputy Law and Human Rights minister Denny Indrayana would appear the next logical move for the police. This is of special concern as Denny, without the legitimacy of the KPK behind him, is in a particularly vulnerable position.

Yesterday’s split Constitution Court decision has been met with mixed reactions. On one hand, it would appear to offer legal coverage for the inactive KPK commissioners to challenge their charges via pre-trial motion. On the other hand, it potentially poses a significant burden on the limited staff of the KPK’s legal bureau.

The decision’s impact is threefold. First, it provides all suspects a legal avenue to challenge the discretion exercised by law enforcement in the conduct of an investigation, which has thus far gone largely unchallenged. Second, it provides a concrete incentive for the KPK to improve case management and ensure that investigations move along reasonable timelines. Finally, it provides a legal avenue for corruption suspects to challenge the validity of their charges in a district court, rather than the TIPOKOR system created to handle corruption cases.

What is clear is that the broader parameters created by the court will lead to a sharp increase in suspects’ use of pre-trial motions, including cases handled by the police and the Attorney General’s Office.

Corruption in local executive elections is a constant concern in Indonesia. The KPU has taken a number of encouraging steps toward requiring greater transparency and accountability in campaign finance, though its mandate, let alone capacity, to conduct investigative audits is lacking. Enforcement measures are equally weak, and so public awareness and vigilance takes on a heightened importance. Positive trends in public oversight of elections were seen in the national legislative contest of 2014, and local elections – though slated to be held simultaneously in more than 250 separate constituencies – feature far fewer candidates to monitor compared to the relative chaos created by the multi-party open list system used for legislative elections.

Information as of 5:30 p.m. WIB, April 29, 2015