The controversy surrounding the hunt for Harun Masiku, has led to the dismissal of immigration director general Ronny F. Sompie. The case has created doubt over the credibility of various agencies.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Harun Masiku remains at large since the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named him as a suspect on 9 Jan. 2020. The case, which implicates Harun in allegedly bribing former General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner Wahyu Setiawan, has led to the dismissal of the Law and Human Rights Ministry’s immigration director general Ronny F. Sompie on Tuesday (28/1/2020).
The whereabouts of Harun, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) candidate that ran in the 2019 legislative election, remains unknown. Solving the case is critical to upholding the government’s credibility and to dispel public doubt.
Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly, who is also a senior executive of the PDI-P, has been seen in a negative light following conflicting reports over Harun’s current location. The conundrum began when Ronny stated that, according to the immigration office’s records, Harun had left Indonesia for Singapore on 6 Jan. and had not returned.
The immigration directorate general then reversed his statement more than two weeks later on 22 Jan., saying that Harun had returned to Indonesia on 7 Jan. He cited a delay in the immigration office’s information system as the reason for the earlier, contradictory report.
Yasonna dismissed Ronny following the contradicting statements on Tuesday, and then appointed the law ministry’s inspector general, Jhoni Ginting, as the acting immigration head. Yasonna also dismissed the ministry’s technology and systems director, Arif Suaidi, who is believed to be responsible for the delay in the office’s information system.
“In order to ensure complete independence and prevent any conflicts of interest, I have relieved the immigration director general and the immigration system and technology director from their respective duties,” Yasonna said.
Yasonna added that, because of the irregularities in the information regarding Harun’s movements, he had established an independent fact-finding team of personnel from the Communications and Information Ministry, the National Cyber and Encryption Agency, the National Police criminal investigation division and the Indonesian Ombudsman.
However, the Indonesian Ombudsman’s Ninik Rahayu denied that the agency was part of the law ministry’s fact-finding team. “We are external supervisors. We are not part of the team,” she said.
The Indonesian Ombudsman is also investigating allegations of maladministration at the immigration directorate general that might have led to the delayed reports on Harun’s return to Indonesia.
Serious
Former Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif said that he had reminded everyone to work professionally in line with existing regulations. He said that the public was following the case closely, and that any procedures taken without regard for the rules would affect public perception.
He highlighted that public trust could be maintained if the officers working on the case were genuinely working for the public interest and not merely to defend the interests of certain groups.
Our work doesn’t need fanfare. I believe that Harun will eventually be caught.
Gadjah Mada University law lecturer Zainal Arifin Mochtar said that the KPK and the law ministry needed to take responsibility in explaining the confusion surrounding the case to the public, and that the institutions’ credibility were at stake.
KPK chairman Firli Bahuri said the commission had searched for Harun in Sumatra, eastern Indonesia and several other places believed to be possible hideouts. “Our work doesn’t need fanfare. I believe that Harun will eventually be caught. Just wait,” he said.
Amid the continuing investigation into Harun, the KPK is facing the possibility of releasing an investigator and a prosecutor involved in the case, Yadyn Palembangan and Sugeng. to their respective institutions of origin in the middle of their KPK tenures. Yadyn is said to be part of the task force managing Harun’s case. “I cannot provide any details, as this relates to the code of ethics,” Yadyn said.
In principle, he continued, prosecutors were responsible for case management and were involved in providing legal advice. However, KPK spokesman Ali Fikri said that Yadyn was not the lead prosecutor on the bribery allegation against Wahyu.
Firli explained that the decision to release the KPK appointees was based on a request their institutions made to him in a recent meeting.
Attorney General S.T. Burhanuddin said the request to release its two prosecutors at the KPK and return to the Attorney General’s Office was based on the organization’s needs. He denied allegations that the move was connected to the cases the prosecutors were working on at the KPK.