Police's Anti-Corruption Plan Needs To Be Monitored

Jakarta, Oct 21 (Antara) - A law professor has urged the public to closely monitor the next police chief`s plan to set up an anti-corruption special force. "At present, corruption has indeed become a problem for the nation and must be eradicated. But irregularities may occur due to the creation of a special force to fight it as this will open up opportunities for officers in the field to carry out extortion. Problems may also occur due to officers` incapacity in dealing with the process of law because of their lack of knowledge about business," said Prof Hikmahanto Juwono from the state University of Indonesia in a press statement here on Monday. In Indonesia, good ideas do not often translate from policy into practice as expected, he added. The move to set up an anti-corruption special force can only cause stagnation in the procurement of goods and services by the government in the future, he noted. "This will mean government spending will be low as government officials will take extra care when dealing with budgets or even tend to not use the budget for fear of being trapped in a corruption case," he observed. State-owned companies as well as private companies, he said, will also be afraid to act as the current definition of state finance is too wide. "They will seek safety and avoid dealing with the state budget. As a result, Indonesia`s macro-economic growth will slow and this is certainly against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s pro-growth policy," he stated. When Hendarman Supandji led the Attorney General Office, he had set targets of corruption cases which all levels of officials had to settle, the professor said. As a result of this policy, those who were not involved in corruption had been implicated as officials strived to meet their targets, he added. "So, corruption eradication was not aimed at freeing Indonesia from corruption but it was done only for meeting targets," he said. If the plan of the next police chief, Commissioner General Sutarman, cannot be withdrawn, the professor said he hopes the special force will have officials who have worked with the Corruption Eradication Commission and know about business and economics. Commissioner General Sutarman, whose candidacy as the next police chief was recently approved by the House of Representatives, has promised he will execute his plan to set up the force soon after he takes office. The House of Representatives, meanwhile, has also asked Sutarman to carry out the plan within the first 100 days of his term.