PRESIDENT TO TAKE QUICK STEPS TO SETTLE CHANDRA-BIBIT CASE

Jakarta, Nov 17 (ANTARA) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said he would take quick and correct steps to settle the legal case of suspended Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chiefs Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto.

But speaking to the fact-finding Team of Eight at his office here on Tuesday afternoon, the president said the steps should be adjusted with the government internal process in its response to the case.

The president told the Team of Eight that as head of state and government, the steps he would take to settle the case of Bibit and Chandra should be in accordance with the Constitution, laws, and existing regulations.

"Certainly after receiving the report from the team, I want to respond to the case as quickly as possible, but to do so we have to adjust it with the government's internal processes," the president said.

President Yudhoyono said that on the one hand, the government wanted to take quick and correct steps in responding to the case of Bibit and Chandra, but on the other, the president also wanted the case to be a good lesson and good history for future improvement.

On the occasion, the president extended his gratitude and appreciation to the team which had worked hard for two weeks since its formation on November 2, 2009.

The president said the recommendations would be an input and important consideration to find the best possible solution to the problems being faced by the government.

At 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the Team of Eight, formed by President Yudhoyono to verify the facts and legal processes in the cases of Bibit and Chandra, submitted its recommendations to the president.

Last week, the team whose mandate ended on November 16, 2009 issued its evaluation and said the extortion and bribery charges against Chandra and Bibit should be dropped as they were not supported by enough evidence.

On the abuse of authority charges against the two KPK commissioners, the team concluded the police had used a "rubber" Criminal Code article (one that was so vague in wording that it could be interpreted willfully in various ways).

For ethical reasons and to respect the president who had given the team its mandate to evaluate the Bibit and Candra case, the team's recommendations would not be disclosed to the public.

Team of Eight chairman Adnan Buyung Nasutiono said recently that in its preliminary recommendations to the president, the team had forwarded at least three options as a solution or course of action. One of them was that the Bibit and Chandra case lacked enough evidence so it could not be continued.

If the case was still in the police's hands, the Team of Eight would recommend the issuance of a stop-investigation order, and if it had already reached public prosecutors, a similar order to prosecutors handling the case.

In addition, the team in its recommendations also proposed that the law enforcing institutions - the Police, Attorney General's Office, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and Victims and Witnesses Protection Institute (LPSK) - be reformed.