VZCZCXRO6210
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #3349/01 3411039
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071039Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7320
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 1282
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4566
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1724
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4335
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 003349 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS, EEB/IFD/OIA, INL BOULDIN 
L/LEI FOR BUCHHOLZ 
DOJ FOR CRIM AAG SWARTZ 
DOJ/OIA FOR WARNER/ROBINSON 
DOJ/OPDAT FOR ALEXANDRE/LEHMANN/JOHNSON 
DOJ/AFMLS FOR SAMUEL 
MCC FOR AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH AND MORFORD 
DEPT PASS USTR FOR AMBASSADOR SCHWAB 
TREASURY FOR IA - BAUKOL 
USAID FOR ANE/AA WARD 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KCOR ECON KJUS ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIAN PARLIAMENT SELECTS CONTROVERSIAL ANTI-CORRUPTION 
COMMISSIONERS 
 
 
JAKARTA 00003349  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Parliament selected five new commissioners for the 
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for the 2007-2011 term. 
Civil society leaders have expressed disappointment with the 
choices, but remain cautiously optimistic that two or three 
commissioners will be able to quietly lead KPK anti-corruption 
reform.  Parliament exerted its influence in this intensely 
political process that yielded what many see as weak commissioners, 
including a new Chairman who has been a subject of corruption 
allegations.  The Indonesian government lost an opportunity to 
appoint the strongest group of Commissioners possible.  The five 
appointed commissioners, however, still have the potential to slowly 
move the anti-corruption reform agenda forward.  End Summary. 
 
DPR Commission III Picks Mixed Group of Commissioners 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On December 5, Commission III - the law and human rights 
committee in Parliament (DPR) - selected the five new KPK 
commissioners from a list of ten candidates submitted by an 
independent selection committee.  After public hearings with each 
commissioner candidate, Commission III chose: 
 
-- Antasari Azhar (Chairman) 
-- Chandra Hamzah 
-- Bibit Samad Rianto 
-- Haryono 
-- Moch. Yasin 
 
The five commissioners represent distinct sections of the larger 
anti-corruption institutional network.  Azhar is currently Director 
of Prosecution in the Deputy Attorney General's Office (AGO) for 
General Crimes.  Hamzah is a private sector lawyer and was a 
co-founder of the Center for Law and Policy Studies, a leading legal 
reform think tank.  He was also a member of the former Inter-agency 
Corruption Team (ICET).  Rianto is now a university administrator, 
but is a former head of police in East Kalimantan.  Haryono is 
currently serving in the Indonesian state audit authority (BPKP), 
but is a largely unknown entity in terms of anti-corruption reform. 
Yasin now serves as the KPK's Director of Research and Development. 
Yasin is more cerebral, less action-oriented and considered to be a 
weak choice for this leadership role. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Commission III conducted two rounds of voting.  MPs 
selected the five commissioners in round one.  MPs chose the 
Chairman during the second round, voting between the top two round 
one vote-getters.  In round one, Hamzah received the most votes - 44 
of a possible 49 votes, compared to Azhar's 37.  Rianto and Haryono 
received 30 votes and Yasin received 28, narrowly beating the other 
AGO candidate Marwan Effendy.  In the second round, Azhar won the 
chairmanship by a landslide, 41-8. 
 
Institutional Re-Balancing in Anti-Corruption Reform 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Three KPK officials were on the original list of ten, yet 
only one current KPK leader, Yasin, made the final cut.  Amien 
Sunaryadi, the only current KPK commissioner seeking reappointment 
and highly regarded as a leading anti-corruption advocate, received 
just 16 votes.  During the public hearings, Commission III members 
accused Sunaryadi of being an "agent of the U.S."  Yasin is regarded 
as the weakest of the three KPK candidates, according to our 
sources.  Waluyo, the other KPK candidate and current Deputy for 
graft investigations, came in a distant seventh place (19 votes). 
Commission III's rejection of Sunaryadi and narrow selection of 
Yasin signal an implicit rejection of the KPK's current agenda.  The 
difference of one vote would have completely shut out current KPK 
leadership from the new commissioner leadership. 
 
¶5. (U) Current AGO official Azhar as chairman and former provincial 
police head Rianto as a commissioner create a representative set of 
 
JAKARTA 00003349  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
KPK leaders.  Current Chairman Taufiequrachman Ruki is a former city 
police chief and current Commissioner Tumpak Hatorangan is a former 
AGO official.  However, one role of the KPK is the oversight of all 
government institutions involved in anti-corruption, including the 
AGO and police.  The increasing prominence of the KPK has threatened 
the AGO and police, according to our sources.  The DPR's 
commissioner selections have reduced the independence and threatened 
the oversight function of the KPK. 
 
Civil Society Expresses Deep Concern 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) Civil society leaders and media voiced criticism for 
Commission III's selection.  The Coalition for Court Monitoring 
submitted to Commission III the names of three candidates - Azhar, 
Rianto, and Effendy - who they felt would not be suitable candidates 
due to their previous roles in the AGO and police as well as 
corruption allegations.  Commission III hijacked the KPK, according 
to Denny Indrayana, a leading legal reform activist and 
constitutional law professor.  However, Indrayana also said that 
this selection of commissioners is a bad scenario, but not a 
nightmare.  Our contacts in the legal reform community are placing 
their hopes in working with Hamzah and Yasin and reaching out to 
Haryono.  While the KPK is weakened, these two or three 
commissioners could provide a counterweight to actions by Azhar and 
Rianto, according to Bibip Susanti, a legal reform activist and 
scholar. 
 
"The Real Boss of the KPK is Commission III" 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Commission III Deputy Chairman Aziz Syamsuddin (Golkar) and 
member Murdaya Poo (PDI-P) made little attempt to defend their 
selections during a meeting with the DCM.  "It's better to pick 
someone who is a little corrupt, but wants to protect the nation," 
Aziz said.  Aziz cited loyalty as the top criteria, also including 
intellect, teamwork, and integrity.  Antasari Azhar demonstrated 
loyalty to the DPR members when he said that as KPK commissioner he 
would not allow a KPK investigation into BI funds being transferred 
to DPR members. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Poo (PDI-P) told us, "The real boss of the KPK is 
Commission III."  Commission III's role in anti-corruption reform 
cannot be overlooked.  Commission III will consider critical 
legislation regarding anti-corruption reform, particularly the new 
Anti-Corruption Court Law and, most likely, a new law being drafted 
on the KPK.  Commission III's selection of the new KPK commissioners 
indicates a weakening of the KPK at best, the first step in a 
possible elimination of the KPK at worst. 
 
HUME