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81174
Tue, 09/22/2009 - 22:50
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News Focus: PRESIDENT EVENTUALLY ISSUES PERPPU ON KPK INTERIM CHIEF
By Eliswan Azly
Jakarta, Sept 22 (ANTARA) - A few months after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)'s chairman became a suspect in a murder case, and two weeks after two of its vice chairmen were formally accused of authority abuse, the government has finally issued a regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to fill the vacancies the three have left.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) on the appointment of a Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) interim chief.
A reliable source at the Presidential Palace said here on Tuesday the president signed the Perppu on Monday together with a presidential decree on the suspension of two KPK vice chairmen, Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto.
Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah are two KPK vice chairmen who have been named suspects for abuse of authority, while KPK chairman Antasari Azhar is facing prosecution in a murder case.
According to the source, the Perppu contained two additional articles, namely articles 33A and 33B in article 33 of the Law No.30/2002 on the Corruption Eradication Commission.
The additional articles 33A and 33B were about the void of KPK leadership, responsibility, and the term of office of KPK's interim chief.
Meanwhile, Minister/State Secretary Hatta Rajasa said earlier the Perppu would read: "In a situation where a void occurs in the KPK leadership, between quotation marks, less than three people, the president will choose an interim chief."
But the article 33 in the Law No.30/2002 said, "In case there is a vacancy in the KPK leadership, the president will propose a substitute to the House of Representatives (DPR)."
President Yudhoyono said recently that the Perppu was needed to enable the KPK to continue functioning effectively after three of its five top executives had been named suspects in criminal offenses by the police.
Earlier, President Yudhoyono said he had communicated his intention to issue a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to the House Speaker, Chairman of the Constitutional Court and Chairman of the Supreme Court.
Based on his consultations with the chairmen of the three supreme state institutions, it was agreed that the vacuum in the KPK leadership at present would disturb the performance of corruption eradication. Unfortunately, there had been no legal solution to overcome it. "In this case, a Perppu is believed to be the only solution."
"We have to be sure that the Perppu will be the right solution. If not, it will be rejected by the House of Representatives. One month after the issuance of the Perppu, the House must approve or reject it," the president said as quoted by Kompas daily.
The KPK leadership was now only in the hands of two persons, while three other leaders were in police custody for alleged involvement in criminal offenses.
In the meantime, Supreme Court Chairman Harifin Tumpa, after meeting with the president last week, said he had discussed the possibility of ensuring the KPK's continued functioning through a government regulation in liew of law.
Tumpa said the president had consulted with him on the overriding conditions which had to be met for the issuance of a Perppu on a certain matter.
The Perppu would enable the KPK to continue functioning effectively although three of its five top executives had been named suspects in criminal offenses by the police and therefore under the law they were suspended from their positions, Tumpa said.
However, Tumpa said, it was also possible for the President under a Perppu to set up a mechanism for the appointment of temporary replacements for the three suspended top KPK executives.
"If the President deems it important to fill the three vacancies soon, then that is what he will do through the Perppu," he said.
Tumpa pointed out recruiting new KPK top leaders through the mechanism prescribed in the Law on KPK would take at least six months' time but a Perppu could considerably reduce the needed time.
"In my view, it is better to defer the normal recruitment procedure and take immediate action by issuing a Perppu for the appointment of a provisional KPK leadership," he said.
Tumpa denied that by issuing a Perppu, the President would commit an act of interference in KPK or be taking over a function of the House of Representatives (DPR) which had so far been selecting the people for the KPK leadership.
He said the selection of KPK top executives by the House applied only under normal circumstances while, in an emergency, it was quite lawful for the president to take over that House function.
"That is what a Perppu is for. It is the only key to arrive at a quick solution in case of emergency," he said.
The vacancies in the KPK leadership were no longer a matter of an independent House commission but a national problem because they were threatening to derail the nation's anti-corruption drive, according to the supreme justice.
In response to the issuance of Perppu on the appointment of interim officials for KPK, secretary general of the Indonesian Advocates Association Harry Ponto said that the issuance of the Perppu was a smart step in a bid to prevent more trouble from coming to the surface that may hamper the ongoing process of corruption eradication.
By the step, the president had allayed the negative perception that he was letting the KPK remain in a weak position after three of its leaders had gotten into trouble with the law, Harry said.
Under the law on KPK, any KPK top executive who has been formally named a suspect in a criminal offense must be suspended from his position in the anti-graft body through a presidential decree. ***1***
Jakarta, Sept 22 (ANTARA) - A few months after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)'s chairman became a suspect in a murder case, and two weeks after two of its vice chairmen were formally accused of authority abuse, the government has finally issued a regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to fill the vacancies the three have left.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) on the appointment of a Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) interim chief.
A reliable source at the Presidential Palace said here on Tuesday the president signed the Perppu on Monday together with a presidential decree on the suspension of two KPK vice chairmen, Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto.
Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah are two KPK vice chairmen who have been named suspects for abuse of authority, while KPK chairman Antasari Azhar is facing prosecution in a murder case.
According to the source, the Perppu contained two additional articles, namely articles 33A and 33B in article 33 of the Law No.30/2002 on the Corruption Eradication Commission.
The additional articles 33A and 33B were about the void of KPK leadership, responsibility, and the term of office of KPK's interim chief.
Meanwhile, Minister/State Secretary Hatta Rajasa said earlier the Perppu would read: "In a situation where a void occurs in the KPK leadership, between quotation marks, less than three people, the president will choose an interim chief."
But the article 33 in the Law No.30/2002 said, "In case there is a vacancy in the KPK leadership, the president will propose a substitute to the House of Representatives (DPR)."
President Yudhoyono said recently that the Perppu was needed to enable the KPK to continue functioning effectively after three of its five top executives had been named suspects in criminal offenses by the police.
Earlier, President Yudhoyono said he had communicated his intention to issue a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to the House Speaker, Chairman of the Constitutional Court and Chairman of the Supreme Court.
Based on his consultations with the chairmen of the three supreme state institutions, it was agreed that the vacuum in the KPK leadership at present would disturb the performance of corruption eradication. Unfortunately, there had been no legal solution to overcome it. "In this case, a Perppu is believed to be the only solution."
"We have to be sure that the Perppu will be the right solution. If not, it will be rejected by the House of Representatives. One month after the issuance of the Perppu, the House must approve or reject it," the president said as quoted by Kompas daily.
The KPK leadership was now only in the hands of two persons, while three other leaders were in police custody for alleged involvement in criminal offenses.
In the meantime, Supreme Court Chairman Harifin Tumpa, after meeting with the president last week, said he had discussed the possibility of ensuring the KPK's continued functioning through a government regulation in liew of law.
Tumpa said the president had consulted with him on the overriding conditions which had to be met for the issuance of a Perppu on a certain matter.
The Perppu would enable the KPK to continue functioning effectively although three of its five top executives had been named suspects in criminal offenses by the police and therefore under the law they were suspended from their positions, Tumpa said.
However, Tumpa said, it was also possible for the President under a Perppu to set up a mechanism for the appointment of temporary replacements for the three suspended top KPK executives.
"If the President deems it important to fill the three vacancies soon, then that is what he will do through the Perppu," he said.
Tumpa pointed out recruiting new KPK top leaders through the mechanism prescribed in the Law on KPK would take at least six months' time but a Perppu could considerably reduce the needed time.
"In my view, it is better to defer the normal recruitment procedure and take immediate action by issuing a Perppu for the appointment of a provisional KPK leadership," he said.
Tumpa denied that by issuing a Perppu, the President would commit an act of interference in KPK or be taking over a function of the House of Representatives (DPR) which had so far been selecting the people for the KPK leadership.
He said the selection of KPK top executives by the House applied only under normal circumstances while, in an emergency, it was quite lawful for the president to take over that House function.
"That is what a Perppu is for. It is the only key to arrive at a quick solution in case of emergency," he said.
The vacancies in the KPK leadership were no longer a matter of an independent House commission but a national problem because they were threatening to derail the nation's anti-corruption drive, according to the supreme justice.
In response to the issuance of Perppu on the appointment of interim officials for KPK, secretary general of the Indonesian Advocates Association Harry Ponto said that the issuance of the Perppu was a smart step in a bid to prevent more trouble from coming to the surface that may hamper the ongoing process of corruption eradication.
By the step, the president had allayed the negative perception that he was letting the KPK remain in a weak position after three of its leaders had gotten into trouble with the law, Harry said.
Under the law on KPK, any KPK top executive who has been formally named a suspect in a criminal offense must be suspended from his position in the anti-graft body through a presidential decree. ***1***
