Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07JAKARTA2411
2007-08-31 09:35:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:  

CORRUPTION ERADICATION COMMISSION SELECTING NEW

Tags:  PGOV KMCA KCOR ECON KJUS ID 
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VZCZCXRO5766
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #2411/01 2430935
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 310935Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6037
INFO RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0722
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4260
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1090
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4156
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 002411 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR U/S JEFFERY
STATE FOR EAP/MTS, EB/IFD, INL BOULDIN
DOJ FOR AAG BRUCE SWARTZ, OPDAT FOR LEHMANN/ALEXANDRE
MCC FOR AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH AND MORFORD
DEPT PASS USTR FOR AMBASSADOR PORTMAN
TREASURY FOR IA - BAUKOL
USAID FOR ANE/AA WARD

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

AIDAC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KMCA KCOR ECON KJUS ID
SUBJECT: CORRUPTION ERADICATION COMMISSION SELECTING NEW
COMMISSIONERS

REF A) JAKARTA 13603 (ACC Decision); B) JAKARTA 1391 (Indonesia
Debates Reform of ACC)

JAKARTA 00002411 001.2 OF 003


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 002411

SIPDIS

STATE FOR U/S JEFFERY
STATE FOR EAP/MTS, EB/IFD, INL BOULDIN
DOJ FOR AAG BRUCE SWARTZ, OPDAT FOR LEHMANN/ALEXANDRE
MCC FOR AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH AND MORFORD
DEPT PASS USTR FOR AMBASSADOR PORTMAN
TREASURY FOR IA - BAUKOL
USAID FOR ANE/AA WARD

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

AIDAC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KMCA KCOR ECON KJUS ID
SUBJECT: CORRUPTION ERADICATION COMMISSION SELECTING NEW
COMMISSIONERS

REF A) JAKARTA 13603 (ACC Decision); B) JAKARTA 1391 (Indonesia
Debates Reform of ACC)

JAKARTA 00002411 001.2 OF 003



1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)
Selection Committee is evaluating new commissioners for a four-year
term beginning late December 2007. The new commissioners will lead
the KPK at a critical time, determining the future direction of the
KPK and the larger anti-corruption reform campaign in Indonesia.
The KPK Selection Committee will recommend 10 candidates through the
President by mid-September and the Parliament will select five
commissioners from that list by December. These commissioners will
have a critical role in continuing anti-corruption reform throughout
the government and work to establish the longer-term institutional
role of the KPK and ACC within the judicial framework of Indonesia.
The long-term status of the KPK and attendant Anti-Corruption Court
(ACC) - the government's premier anti-corruption bodies - are
uncertain after a December 2006 Constitutional Court decision ruled
that the process used to create the ACC was unconstitutional. End
Summary.

KPK Selection to be Completed by December
--------------


2. (U) The KPK Selection Committee (SC) oversees the initial phases
of identifying commissioner candidates. The SC is a 15-member
committee composed of academics, civil society, and government
officials and headed by the State Minister for Administrative Reform
Tauffiq Effendi. The SC received 662 applications for the
commissioner positions, reducing the list to 465 through
administrative selection criteria. The field was cut to 256 through
written exams. The field was further reduced to 75 candidates
through profile assessments, which included the support of the U.S.
human resources company Dunamis. The SC then selected 26 finalists

for further testing and public interviews. Amien Sunaryadi,
regarded as a quiet, effective reformer within the KPK, is the only
current commissioner on the list of 26 candidates. Waluyo, KPK
Deputy for Prevention, Iswan Helmi, a KPK Director for Preliminary
Investigations, and M. Yasin, Director of Research, are also
candidates.


3. (U) The following is an overview of the remaining steps in the
KPK commissioner selection process:

-- September 3-5: Final public interviews by SC at Hotel Borobudur.
Each candidate has a one-hour interview. Public invited to observe,
but only the SC poses questions.

-- September 6: SC recommends 10 candidates to President Yudhoyono.
SC makes decision based on public interviews as well as private
interviews and further Dunamis testing, including psychological
exams, "integrity tests," writing exams, and management capability
testing.

-- September 8: SC plans to meet with President to discuss list of
candidates.

-- Mid-September: President presents list of 10 candidates to
Parliament.

-- September - December: Parliament conducts interviews and gathers
further information on candidates, conducting overall "fit and
proper" tests. Work in Parliament will be based in Commission III
on Law and Security.

-- Early-December: Parliament selects the five commissioners.

-- Late-December: Commissioners sworn in. Judicial Watch Coalition
- a group of six NGOs including Partnership for Governance Reform in
Indonesia (Kemitraan),Indonesia Corruption Watch, MAPPI, LEIP, and
KRHN - will offer induction training and team-building workshops.


JAKARTA 00002411 002.2 OF 003



4. (SBU) Emboffs met with two KPK commissioners, Amien Sunaryadi and
Erry Riyana, who are considered the leading reformers in the KPK.
Sunaryadi and Riyana expressed optimism about the selection process,
stating that the process has improved since its first use four years
ago. The SC was enlarged from nine to 15; the SC has a more diverse
membership with fewer bureaucrats; and the SC was given more time
for its selection process. Riyana stated that Minister Effendi will
likely informally consult with President Yudhoyono before Effendi
presents the final list to him.

KPK Overview and Role of Commissioners
--------------


5. (U) The KPK was established in 2002 in order to investigate and
prosecute high-profile corruption cases, particularly cases
involving law enforcement and government executives, cases over Rp 1
billion ($109,000),and cases of public attention. The KPK is the
only institution which can prosecute cases in the Anti-Corruption
Court (ACC). The ACC and KPK have occupied a central role in
President Yudhoyono's broader anti-corruption reform campaign. A
December 2006 Constitutional Court ruling, however, placed the
future of the KPK and ACC in question. The court declared the
process which created the ACC unconstitutional, limiting its mandate
to three years unless new legislation correcting the constitutional
deficiencies is adopted within that timeframe (see reftel A). The
KPK and ACC also face challenges due to the disparity between its
vast mandate and its limited resources. Several groups, including
the Ministry of Law and Human Rights and a coalition of NGOs, are
working on draft legislation to address the Constitutional Court
decision and institutionalize the role of the ACC and KPK (see
reftel B). USAID has been providing technical assistance on this
current draft, which preserves the power of the KPK and the ACC's
continued role. Civil society leaders are optimistic that
legislation will be passed by the December 2009 deadline.


6. (SBU) The five KPK commissioners are responsible for the overall
leadership of the anti-corruption body and setting a strategic
direction for their reform agenda. The current commissioners are:
Taufieqrachman Ruki (chair),Amien Sunaryadi, Sjahruddin Rasul,
Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean, and Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas.
Multiple sources regard Amien Sunaryadi and Erry Riyana as effective
commissioners committed to anti-corruption reform, whereas the other
three commissioners are considered to be ineffective at best,
obstructive at worst.

Comment: New Leaders, New Opportunity
--------------


7. (SBU) The KPK commissioners' role extends beyond the
administration of an investigative and prosecutorial commission and
includes a symbolic and strategic role in the anti-corruption reform
campaign throughout the Indonesian government. These commissioners
will influence the anti-corruption reform agenda throughout the
government and work to establish the longer-term role of the KPK
within the judicial framework of Indonesia. The KPK and ACC have
encountered resistance, particularly in some corners of Parliament.
Quiet encouragement from the Embassy on this selection process,
particularly to Parliament, will allow the KPK and ACC to further
build its institutional role and capacity within the larger GOI
anti-corruption reform campaign.

List of KPK Commissioner Candidate
--------------


7. (U) List of 26 KPK Commissioner Candidates (publicly listed in
August 16, 2007 edition of Kompas, a leading Indonesian language
newspaper):

-- A.M. Krisdarudjati
-- Ahmad Helmi
-- Amien Sunaryadi (current commissioner)

JAKARTA 00002411 003.2 OF 003


-- Antasari Azhar
-- Bibit Samad Rianto
-- Budi Santoso
-- Chandra M. Hamzah
-- Christianto Wibisono
-- Daniel Pangaribuan
-- Eddy RS
-- Haryanto Hadoon
-- Haryono
-- Hening Tyastanto
-- Iskander Sonhadjii
-- Iswan Elmi (KPK Director for Preliminary Investigations)
-- Justitia Tripurwasani
-- Leonardus Joko Eko Nugroho
-- M. Saleh Khalid
-- Mangiring L. Toroean
-- Marwan Effendy
-- Moch. Yasin (KPK Director of Research)
-- Saut Situmorang
-- Sudibyo Triatmodjo
-- Surachmin
-- Waluyo (KPK Deputy for Corruption Prevention)
-- Sudirman Ali

HUME