---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- Jakarta Post 24 July 1999 Antigraft bill passed by House JAKARTA (JP): The death penalty awaits convicted corruptors when the new antigraft bill, which the House of Representatives endorsed on Friday, comes into effect. The four House factions in a plenary session chaired by House Deputy Speaker Lt. Gen. Hari Sabarno lauded the new law, which promises greater authority for law enforcers, as proof of the government's commitment to pursue corruption cases. Agus Muhyidin of the ruling Golkar Party faction said the special committee in charge of the bill had made substantial progress in their deliberations. He said new ideas had been introduced so that the completed document would be an effective legal tool for the next government. "The law gives more authority to law enforcers, including the National Police, the Attorney General's Office and judges in their investigations, prosecution and dispensing of punishment. "Law enforcers will be allowed to receive information on corruption from all sides, including parties whose identity will remain confidential," he said at the plenary session. Maj. Gen. Budi Santoso, deputy chairman of the military faction, said the law would mean that public officials, corporations and bank creditors would be forced to reconsider committing crimes. He said the law introduces the death penalty as the maximum punishment for convicted corruptors and embezzlers. "This law with harsh sanctions, plus the law on clean governance that we passed in May, is expected to be an effective future means for the campaign against corruption," he said after the meeting. The clean governance law stipulates that new public officials declare their personal assets and their corporations' assets before taking on their jobs. State Secretary/Justice Minister Muladi, who represented the government in the plenary session, also hailed the law. He said with the greater authority invested in the law, law enforcers would be able to escalate their investigative powers when handling corruption cases. "In handling corruption cases in the banking sector, for example, law enforcers will be allowed to freeze a suspect's bank account, and will be able to ask the central bank to reveal their bank accounts," he said. The minister said the new law, which will replace the 1970 Anticorruption Law, introduces a system of a "balanced burden of evidence" in corruption investigations. "Under this system, a suspect can be made to explain how they obtained their wealth and that of his/her family. But, at the same time, there is a guarantee of the suspect's right for self-defense to prove that he/she is not guilty," Muladi said. The minister said the death sentence would be handed down on those found to have committed corruption more than once, those who were involved in major embezzlement cases, and to those who took advantage of situations during a state of emergency, national disasters and economic crises. "The law also threatens a maximum 20-year jail sentence," he said. The minister said in the next two years, an independent anticorruption agency would be set up to help eradicate corruption. "The agency will be run by independent professionals and chaired by the attorney general." Commenting about the newly introduced bill on state security, the minister said the government was open to public comments and suggestions about the document. He reiterated, however, that the law was needed in a state of emergency. "The creation of the bill is in accordance with all laws and bills aimed at improving the people's social welfare. In a state of emergency, a martial law is needed to restore order and security as well as to maintain national unity." He said the bill was in substance better than the 1959 State of Emergency Law. Syamsu Rizal Panggabean, director of the security and peace studies department at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, said the bill stipulates that riots and separatist efforts could no longer be handled by military repression. "Violence and separatism movements can only be handled through a democratic political process," he said. (rms/44 ----------- ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 24 Jul 1999 jam 07:21:31 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
