THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE BATTLE AGAINST CORRUPTION THE INDONESIA EXPERIENCE

ERRY RIYANA HARDJAPAMEKAS

AGENDA
Introduction The History of Civil Societys Role in Anti-Corruption Reform MTIs Role Case Studies: Antasari Bibit-Chandra Novel Baswedan Abraham Samad Ethical Committee Decision Challenges: The DPR The Judiciary Is Civil Society Addressing the Right Issues in Anti-Corruption Reform? Conclusion

History of the Reform Era

Civil Society in Indonesia have always called for anti-

corruption reform during Suhartos kleptocratic regime Reform began in earnest in 1998 during the Asian economic crisis which forced Suharto to step down During the reform era, the Indonesian Society for Transparency, MTI, led the civil society community in calling for the formation of an independent anticorruption agency

The MTI Campaign - 1

MTIs argument was five-fold: There needs to be a national strategy to eradicate corruption; Parliament needs to be strengthened to assist in anti-corruption reforms; The Supreme Court needs to be strengthened to assist in anti-corruption reforms; An independent anti-corruption agency needed to be formed; Big fishes need to be caught

The MTI Campaign-2

An independent anti-corruption agency is an immediate

necessity, especially considering:

Public demand is very strong for the eradication of corruption, collusion and nepotism from state governance; There is high lack of trust in government agencies; The anti-corruption effort is a very complex, very time-consuming work that involves multiple actors; and The anti-corruption effort will require strong credibility and effectiveness in its implementing agency. Importantly, such an agent must be imbued with sufficient enforcement powers.

An independent anti-corruption agency must have legal

basis:

It must be formed under law; and It must be dismantled and limited in terms of mandate and authority under law only.

The MTI Campaign - 3

An independent anti-corruption agency

must be correctly placed within the government hierarchy:

It

must be of the same level as a State High Agency; and It must be responsible to the Parliament through a special commission within the Parliament.

The MTI Campaign - 4

An independent anti-corruption agency must have the following

functions and authority:

Draft and campaign the National Corruption Eradication Strategy; Investigate and prosecute corruption cases; Conduct searches, seizes, arrests and raids in the course of investigating corruption cases; Conduct examinations of domestic bank accounts regardless of bank secrecy regulations; Cooperate with foreign governments to uncover bank accounts abroad that are thought to host proceeds of corruption crimes; Report results of examinations, investigations and prosecutions to the Parliament; Examine, review and cancel corrupted transactions; Confiscate and seize any asset that is proven to be the proceeds of corruption crimes; Provide adequate protection to victims and reporters of corruption crimes; Conduct examinations on taxation information as well as any other data managed by a Ministry or any other government agency; Receive professional legal immunity in the carrying out of its duties; Use reversal of burden of proof for relevant corruption crimes; Recommend the revocation of corrupted licenses.

The MTI Campaign - 5

An independent anti-corruption agency

should be active in the drafting and regulation of:

Professional oaths of anti-corruption for government officials; Standards of good governance; Standards of ethics for State officials and employees; Conflict of interest regulations; Public procurement of goods and services regulations;

KPK: A Victory for the Civil Society Community - 1

After successful campaigning by MTI, the KPK Law

was promulgated in 2002. The KPK started its operations in 2004, and has maintained a 100% conviction rate since its formation. The KPKs success is founded on its initial design a superpower agency built to address an extraordinary crime.

KPK: A Victory for the Civil Society Community - 2

The KPKs Powers: Law Enforcement:
Investigation (including surveillance and wiretapping); and Prosecution.

Coordination of corruption cases run by other law enforcement agencies, namely the Police and the Attorney Generals Office

Corruption Fights Back: despite its powers, the KPK

continues to face challenges in its daily operations.

The KPK's Duties

(Article 6 Law No.30 year 2002)

Coordination (Article 7)

Supervision (Article 8)

Monitoring (Article 14)

Duties of KPK
(Article 6)

Pre-investigation, Investigation & Prosecution (Article 11)

Prevention (Article 13)

Case Study Antasari

The Antasari case highlights that corruption can

fight back even through legitimate processes, in this case, the selection process of the KPK Commissioners; and Aside from addressing the selection process for KPK Commissioners, the case also led to the understanding that it is necessary to strengthen the internal system of the KPK, such that no one officer within KPK has any power to subvert it, for whatever reason.

Case Study Bibit & Chandra 1

The Bibit-Chandra case highlights the high level of

resistance against the KPK, even within other law enforcement institutions, as well as the high level of coordination between the justice mafia; Civil society support of the KPK, as well as a high popularity of the KPK amongst the Indonesian public, were instrumental in ultimately providing justice for Bibit and Chandra; Safeguarding Reforms is a Full Time Job!

Case Study Bibit & Chandra 2

The Cicak Movement! Early on in the conflict,

Police Chief Detective Susno Duadji, in a press conference to state that he knows he has been recorded by the KPK, likened the Police to crocodiles and the KPK to lizards, intimating that the KPK, being of weaker authority, will lose. The Civil Society has taken this faux pas and turned it into a massive support movement for the KPK

Case Study Bibit & Chandra 3

CICAK in electronic and international media CICAK has been supported on the online social website Facebook, with more than a 1,250,000 supporters for Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto: http://www.facebook.com/home.php? #/group.php?gid=169178211590&ref=t s CICAK featured prominently in one The Economist article The Gecko Bites Back: http://www.economist.com/world/asia /displaystory.cfm?story_id=14816720 The Wall Street Journal has also run a story about the case that is supportive of the KPK: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12572 9270226226567.html

Case Study Bibit & Chandra 4

CICAK CIVIL SOCIETY

AND MEDIA STILL A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP IN INDONESIA

The symbiosis between

Indonesian Civil Society the Media took its root during the early days of the reform era, at the fall of the Suharto regime; by no means does one camp control the other both camps have always understood that accountability and integrity are the only things that will speak truth to power.

Case Study Bibit & Chandra 5

A Facebook petition got to 1,500,000 followers in only less

than two weeks Various people movement across cities, largest in many years.

THANK YOU

Case Study Novel Baswedan

The KPK is also vulnerable because its investigators

and prosecutors must, by law, be on secondment from the Police and the Attorney Generals Office, respectively; In late 2012, chief investigator Novel Baswedan was targeted by corrupted elements in Police because of his leading role in a high profile corruption case involving a high-ranking police officer; Civil society and media action revealed the conflict of interest, and helped safeguard the KPKs investigations.

Case Study Abraham Samad and the KPK Ethics Committee

In early 2013, KPK Chief Commissioner Abraham

Samad faced the KPKs ethical committee in the matter of a leaked order to investigate a high-profile government officer; The civil society and media insistence that the KPK properly process this violation of the KPKs standards show the higher standards expected by the Indonesian public of the KPKs conduct.

Challenges for Civil Society in the Fight Against Crime (1)

Civil Society has failed to recruit the Parliament in the

cause of fighting corruption Instead, corrupted elements of society has succeeded in capturing Parliament and using it against the fight against corruption:

Bills to weaken the KPK and the Corruption Crimes Law; New law on Mass Organization designed to limit the coordination and networking capacities of the civil society community

The failure to reform the Parliament is caused by a lack

of holistic approach: Parliament is the supply, who is the demand?

Challenges for Civil Society in the Fight Against Crime (2)

Due to a high level of state capture ever since the Suharto

regime, repeated efforts to reform the judiciary have failed; The failure to reform the judiciary is caused by the failure to address the justice mafia effectively. The judiciary creates the supply for corrupted justice. Who creates the demand? Developments in the Indonesian judiciary is unbalanced: certain courts such as the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court are highly developed, but how to address the resource issues in developing the District Courts?

Conclusion
Questions that must be answered in order for the

Indonesian Civil Society community to continue to fight corruption effectively:

How to prepare and coordinate civil society for the next phase in the fight against corruption in Indonesia? How to bridge coordination and effective collaboration between civil society, the Government, and the private sector? How to further assist the KPK in developing effective defenses against corruption fighting back?

Combating Corruption: A Collective Effort by Countrys Stakeholders

Civil Society Corruption Eradication

Private Sector

Government

THANK YOU