spruiked: jakarta style

police vs the kpk: unravelling the 'abuse of authority' charge

I spent this morning trying to understand what the "abuse of power" charges might be about. Here's my take. I’ve left out the Anggodo-gate wire-tapping incident because I think that needs to be looked at separately. Let me know what you think.

In 2007, the KPK investigated the appointment of PT Masaro Radiokom by the Forestry Ministry as the sole provider of the ministry's radio communications system. PT Masaro Radiokom is owned by Anggoro Widjojo.

The KPK found evidence of a Rp 17.2 billion bribe paid by Anggoro to the then Forestry Minister Kaban.

It seems that the Police believe Bibit and Chandra conspired with the Minister to bury evidence of the bribe. They waited until Anggoro was in Singapore before issuing a travel ban against him and PT Masaro Radiokom’s chief director, Putra Nevo.

This was supposed to scare Anggoro, to make sure that he never returned to Indonesia to give evidence in the KPK's investigation.

The problem with this theory is that the KPK subsequently lifted the travel ban against Anggoro. But that’s okay, because it seems that the Police know what happened: Bibit and Chandra double-crossed the Minister and did a deal with Anggoro to lift the ban.

They believe that Anggoro used middle-man Ary Muladi to pay Bibit and Chandra Rp 650 million at the Bellagio Hotel and Pasar Festival Mall. There is apparently closed-circuit video footage of this occurring.

PT Masaro Radiokom's chief director, Putra Nevo, is also supposed to have used a middle-man, who the Police call "E", to pay Bibit and Chandra Rp 350 million.

The problem Police have is that their witnesses are either missing in action not particularly credible -- or both:

• Anggoro is still "at large", which seems to be code for "in Singapore" -- despite the fact that the travel ban against him has been lifted.
• Ary Muladi, the middle-man who is supposed to have given Rp 650 million to Bibit and Chandra, keeps changing his story. The latest version of events is that he gave the money to another go-between Yulianti, and didn't know who the intended recipient was.
• Yulianti is "at large", which in this case could mean "dead", "in Singapore" or "a complete fabrication".
• Also "at large" is E, the other middle-man.
• The primary witness, former KPK chief Antasari, also keeps changing his story and now claims that the Police forced testimony from him.

With the exception of Antasari, it seems that all the Police witnesses are themselves criminals -- assuming that the Police version of events is true. The Police needed more evidence. They needed an excuse to investigate Bibit and Chandra. This is where the "abuse of authority" charges come in.

From the outset, the Police have said that the abuse of authority charges relate to the travel ban. It is hard to understand how issuing a travel ban is an abuse of authority because the KPK has the authority to issue travel bans. As far as I can figure out, the Police are relying on the fact that the travel ban was only signed by Bibit and Chandra. According to the KPK's legal affairs division, all five commissioners should have signed it, not just two.

If this is all the Police have -- missing signatures -- then they themselves have abused their authority.

Police abuse of authority is a very serious matter. Only time will tell if the Police have played their cards right. But even if Bibit and Chandra are guilty, every single Police officer involved in this scandal should probably be fired.