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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 April 2015
The Yogyakarta Ombudsman was established in 2005 as the first Local Ombudsman in Indonesia. Its introduction forms part of the democratic reforms aimed at tackling the problem of corruption within the bureaucracy. This article examines the Local Ombudsman's first year of operation, and asks whether it is addressing corruption and promoting good governance as hoped.
1 Art.22(1) of the Indonesia Constitution 1945 states that the executive may introduce a government regulation (perpu) ‘in lieu of laws’ in the event of a ‘compelling emergency’. However, this power is exercised relatively frequently in practice. Such a Law was being drafted by the Judicial Commission, but has since been abandoned; see “Justice Relies on Court's Absolute Respect for Rule of Law” The Jakarta Post (1 February 2006); Agah Nugraha “Rampant Judicial Corruption Places Indonesia in State of Emergency” The Jakarta Post (8 February 2006); Ridarson Galingging “Invoking Emergency Powers Not To Be Taken Lightly” The Jakarta Post (6 March 2006), online: The Jakarta Post <http://www.thejakartapost.com> [Galingging]. An emergency state of corruption was also called for in Yogyakarta: “DIJ Layak Masuk Darurat Korupsi” Radar Jogja (23 January 2006) at 1.
2 For an analysis on the past and present state of the Supreme Court, see Pompe, Sebastian, The Indonesian Supreme Courts: A Study of Institutional Collapse (New York: Cornell Southeast Asia Program, 2005) [Pompe]Google Scholar.
3 National Ombudsman, The Role of the Ombudsman in the Elimination of Corruption and the Implementation of Good Governance (Indonesia, 2005) at 12 [National Ombudsman 2005]Google Scholar.
4 The New Order, Orde Baru, refers to the period of 1965 to 1998 in Indonesia.
5 For an explanation of Suharto's “franchise” system of government see McLeod, Ross, “The Struggle to Regain Effective Government Under Democracy in Indonesia” (2005) 41 Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies (2005) 146–168 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
6 Ibid. at 161.
7 This was concluded by the findings of international corruption watch agency Transparency International. See Kingsbury, Damien, The Politics of Indonesia (South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2005) at 188 Google Scholar.
8 See Lindsey, Timothy, “Black Letter, Black Market and Bad Faith: Corruption and the Failure of Law Reform” in Manning, Chris & van Dierman, Peter, eds., Indonesia in Transition: Social Aspects of Reformasi and Crisis (Singapore: ISEAS, 2000) 278 at 288 Google Scholar.
9 Goodpaster, Gary, “Reflections on Corruption in Indonesia” in Lindsey, Timothy & Dick, Howard, eds., Corruption in Asia: Rethinking the Governance Paradigm (Sydney: Federation Press, 2002) 87 at 87 Google Scholar.
10 Reif, Linda, Marshall, Mary & Ferris, Charles, The Ombudsman: Diversity and Development (Canada: International Ombudsman Institute, 1993) at 209 Google Scholar; Theobald, Robin, Corruption, Development and Underdevelopment (Durham: Duke University Press, 1990)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
11 The abbreviation KKN is widely recognised in Indonesia; for a definition of the terms korupsi, kolusi and nepotisme as they are used in Indonesia see Law 28/1999 Art.1(3-5).
12 For example, the Suharto government addressed corruption, but only when it suited their political agenda with little effect. See Glassburner, Bruce, “Survey of Recent Developments” (1978) 14 Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 1–32 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Assegaf, Ibrahim, “Legends of the Fall: An Institutional Analysis of Indonesian Law Enforcement Agencies Combating Corruption” in Lindsey, Timothy & Dick, Howard, eds., Corruption in Asia: Rethinking the Governance Paradigm (Sydney: Federation Press, 2002) at 127–136 [Assegaf]Google Scholar.
13 Law 22/1999 on Regional Governance. This replaced Law 5/1974 on Basic Principles of Administration in the Regions. See Buising, Trevor, “A Century of Decentralisation…” (2000) 63 Inside Indonesia 4 Google Scholar.
14 Law 25/1999 on Fiscal Balance. For an explanation, see Bertrand, Jacques, Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict in Indonesia (Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 2004) at 202 Google Scholar.
15 Harold Crouch, “Indonesia: Democratisation and the Threat of Disintegration” (2000) Institute of Southeast Asian Studies 115 at 115 [Crouch].
16 Regional Autonomy Law, Art.7(1).
17 Crouch, supra note 15 at 127.
18 Bell, Gary, “The New Indonesian Laws Relating to Regional Autonomy: Good Intentions, Confusing Laws” (2001) 2 Asian Pacific Law and Policy Journal 1 at 43 Google Scholar.
19 Smith, Adam, “Indonesia In 2002: Megawati's Way” (2003) South East Asian Affairs 97 at 105 Google Scholar.
20 Masthuri, Budhi, The Role of the Ombudsman (Jakarta: National Ombudsman, 2005) at 80 [Masthuri]Google Scholar.
21 Bhargara, Vinay & Bolongaita, Emil, Challenging Corruption in Asia: Case Studies and A Framework for Action (Washington: World Bank, 2004) at 65 [Bhargara]Google Scholar.
22 Lindsey, Timothy, “Indonesian Constitutional Reform: Muddling Towards Democracy” (2002) 6 Singapore Journal of International and Comparative Law 244 at 245 [Lindsey]Google Scholar.
23 Bhargara, supra note 21 at 209.
24 Ibid. at 67.
25 See Pope, Jeremy, Confronting Corruptions: The Elements of a National Integrity System (United Kingdom: Transparency International Source Book, 2000), online: Transparency International <http://www.transparency.org>Google Scholar.
26 Dick, Howard, “Corruption and Good Governance: The New Frontier of Social Engineering” in Lindsey, Timothy & Dick, Howard, eds., Corruption in Asia: Rethinking the Governance Paradigm (Sydney: Federation Press, 2002) at 72 Google Scholar.
27 Law 28/1999 on the State Organiser who is Clean and Free From Corruption, Collusion and Nepotisme. This was the result of the Decision of the People's Consultative Assembly 11/1998 on the State Organiser who is Clean and Free from Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism.
28 Ibid. at Art.10. See Sherlock, Stephen, “Combating Corruption in Indonesia: The Ombudsman and the Assets Auditing Commission” (2002) 38 Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 367 at 367 [Sherlock]CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
29 Ibid, at Art.12, 17.
30 Law 31/1999 on the Eradication of the Criminal Act of Corruption.
31 Ibid. at Article 2(1).
33 Ibid. at Article 43(1).
33 Law 25/2000 on the National Development Program.
34 Decision of the People's Consultative Assembly 8/2001 on the Recommendations for Policy Direction on the Elimination and Solution to Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism.
35 2001 Recommendations, Art.2(6)(g). These recommendations reiterated Art.43 of Law 31/1999.
36 Presidential Decree 155/1999 on the Investigation Team for the Formation of the Ombudsman.
37 Kemitraan aims to bring together the government, legislature, judiciary, civil society, the corporate sector and the international community in order to strengthen coordination among enforcement institutions in combating corruption in Indonesia. For information on Kemitraan, its programs and goals see online: <http://www.kemitraan.or.id>.
38 Sherlock, supra note 28 at 372.
39 Presidential Decree No 44/2000 on the National Ombudsman Commission, passed on 20 May 2000.
40 The Pancasila is the state ideology enshrined in the Constitution which contains five elements: Belief in God, Humanitarianism, Nationalism, Democracy and Social Justice. See Chapter 1: “Origins of Discourse: Politics and Ideology Since 1945” in Ramage, Douglas E., Politics in Indonesia (New York: Routledge, 1995)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
41 Decree 44/2000, Art.3.
42 Masthuri, supra note 20 at 96.
43 Supra note 41 at Art.2.
44 Ibid. at Art.4.
45 Sherlock, supra note 28 at 372.
46 This agreement falls under AusAID's Australia-Indonesia Development Cooperation Program; for a summary of this agreement see National Ombudsman, Annual Report (Indonesia: 2004) at 54-5Google Scholar.
47 National Ombudsman, Annual Report (Indonesia, 2003) at 78 Google ScholarPubMed [National Ombudsman 2003].
48 For information on the National Ombudsman's first year of operation see Sujata, Antonius, ed., The Local Ombudsman: Past, Present and Future (Jakarta: National Ombudsman, 2002) at 28–42 Google Scholar; National Ombudsman, Annual Report (Indonesia: 2000) [National Ombudsman 2000]Google ScholarPubMed.
49 Ibid. at 48, 74.
50 For information on the National Ombudsman's second year of operation see Sujata, supra note 48 at 43-56.
51 National Ombudsman 2003, supra note 47 at 67.
52 For more information on the Corruption Eradication Commission, see online: <http://www.kpk.go.id>.
53 Law 30/2002 on the Commission for the Eradication of the Criminal Act of Corruption.
54 The Corruption Eradication Commission began on 29 December 2003.
55 Supra note 53 at Art.3.
56 Ibid. at Art.4.
57 Ibid. at Article 6. For a general description of their main tasks, see the Corruption Eradication Commission “Progress Report” (Indonesia, July 2004) at 1,2; Assegaf, supra note 12 at 140-4.
58 For an analysis of how these strategies worked in the first six months of operation see the Corruption Eradication Commission, “Progress Report” (Indonesia, July 2004) at 11-32; for the future action plan based on these strategies see at 33-36.
59 Supra note 53 at Art.53.
60 “Critics Slam ‘Faltering’ Fight Against Rampant Corruption” The Jakarta Post (3 March 2006), online: The Jakarta Post <http://www.thejakartapost.com>.
61 M. Taufiqurrahman, “Government Faulted for Dragging Feet on Recovering Stolen State Assets” The Jakarta Post (6 April 2006), online: The Jakarta Post <http://www.thejakartapost.com>.
62 For information on Puteh's case, see “Puteh Gets 10 Years in Jail for Corruption” The Jakarta Post (12 April 2005); “Said Agil Jailed in Haj Scandal” The Jakarta Post (8 February 2006), online: The Jakarta Post <http://www.thejakartapost.com>.
63 For more information on the Judicial Commission see online: <http://www.komisiyudisial.go.id>.
64 The original Constitution of 1945 has been amended four times: in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002. For an explanation of the Third Amendment see Lindsey, supra note 22.
65 Law 22/2004 on the Judicial Commission. This Law is on the 2007 legislative agenda for revision.
66 Ibid. at Art.2.
67 The Indonesian Constitution 1945, Art.24B(1).
68 Supra note 56 at Art.13.
69 Ibid. at Art.22.
70 Ibid. at Art.20.
71 Galingging, supra note 1.
72 Imanuddin Razak, “Judicial Commission the Loser in the Political Tug-of-War” The Jakarta Post (1 September 2006), online: The Jakarta Post <http://www.thejakartapost.com>.
73 At the time this article was written, Law 22/2004 was on the list for legislative review for 2007. Ary Hermawan, “House Puts Priority on Judicial Commission Law” The Jakarta Post (28 August 2006), online: The Jakarta Post <http://www.thejakartapost.com>.
74 United Nations Convention Against Corruption, A/58/422, entered into force 31 October 2003 and signed by Indonesia on 18 December 2003 [UNCAC].
75 Indonesia's obligations under the UNCAC include introducing preventative anti-corruption policies (Art.5) and bodies (Art.6), and taking steps in relation to key areas such as the judiciary (Art. 11) and the private sector (Art.12).
76 Presidential Instruction 5/2004 on the Acceleration of the Elimination of Corruption.
77 “Susilo Puts the Squeeze on Corruption” The Jakarta Post (6 May 2005), online: The Jakarta Post <http://www.thejakartapost.com>.
78 Presidential Decree 11/2005 on the Coordinating Team for Eliminating Corruption.
79 Draft Law on the National Indonesian Ombudsman.
80 Masthuri, supra note 20 at 22.
81 Ibid. at 1, 8.
82 National Ombudsman 2003, supra note 47 at 8, 66.
83 Ibid. at viii.
84 National Ombudsman, The Role of the Ombudsman in the Elimination of Corruption and the Implementation of Good Governance (Indonesia, 2005) at 12.
85 These Laws are on the legislative agenda for 2004-2009. See National Ombudsman, Annual Report (Indonesia, 2004) at 72 Google ScholarPubMed; Draft Law on Freedom of Information; Draft Law on Witness Protection.
86 National Ombudsman 2003, supra note 47 at 68-69.
87 Decree of the Chairman of the National Ombudsman Commission 024/KON-SK/X/2004.
88 National Ombudsman, Report of the Yogyakarta-Central Java Office (Indonesia, 23 December 2005) at 3 Google Scholar.
89 Ibid. at 8.
90 Ibid. at 12.
91 National Ombudsman 2003, supra note 47 at vii.
92 National Ombudsman, The Voice of the Ombudsman: Special Five Year Edition (Indonesia, 2005) at 11 Google Scholar.
93 Ibid. at 9.
94 Interview of Budhi Masturi by Melissa Crouch (10 February 2006).
95 Masthuri, supra note 20 at 80.
96 For general information on the activities of Pusham UII, see online: <http://www.pushamuii.org>.
97 Decree of the Governor of Yogyakarta 134/2004 on the Structure and Organisation of the Local Ombudsman. This Decree was enacted on 30 June 2004.
98 Hossain, Khamal, Human Rights Commissions and Ombudsman Offices: National Experiences Throughout the World (London: Klumer Law International, 2000) at 786 Google Scholar.
99 Masthuri, supra note 20 at 99.
100 Decree of the Governor of Yogyakarta 26/2004 on the Creation and Organisation of the Local Ombudsman, passed on 1 June 2004.
101 Profiles of the current Ombudsman, as well as support staff, can be found in Tim Pusham UII and the Local Ombudsman, The Local Ombudsman: Partnership for Public Governance in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (Yogyakarta, 2005) at 35–61 [Pusham]Google Scholar.
102 Decree 134/2004, Art.4.
103 Pusham, supra note 101 at 5.
104 Decree 134/2004, Art.7.
105 Ibid. at Art.7(a).
106 Ibid. at Art.7(b).
107 Ibid. at Art.7(c).
108 Ibid. at Art.7(d). See also Pusham, supra note 101 at 7-8.
109 UII, Pusham and Brata, Gatra Tri, The Local Ombudsman: Towards Clean Governance (November 2005) at 21 [Pusham 2]Google Scholar.
110 Decree of the Governor of Yogyakarta, 135/2004 on the Structure and Organisation of the Private Ombudsman.
111 Decree of the Governor of Yogyakarta, 29/2004 concerning the Creation and Organisation of the Private Ombudsman, passed on 30 June 2004.
112 Pusham 2, supra note 109 at 15-32.
113 Decree 135/2004, Art.3, 5.
114 Pusham 2, supra note 109 at 35.
115 Ibid. at 37.
116 Ibid. at 35-36.
117 Masthuri, supra note 20 at 112-115.
118 Further analysis of the relationship between the Local Ombudsman and the Private Ombudsman will be discussed in Section IV (F). See Masthuri, Budhi, Indonesian Ombudsman (Jakarta: PT Pradnya Paramitta, 2005) at 115 Google Scholar.
119 Masthuri, supra note 20 at 101-115.
120 Ibid. at 104-108.
121 Ibid. at 111.
122 Prasetyo, Eko, Agustina, Fitria, & Marzuki, Suparman, The Local Ombudsman: Supporting Clean Government (Pusham Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta, 2003) at 41–46 Google Scholar.
123 National Ombudsman, Annual Report (Indonesia, 2003) at 30–33 Google ScholarPubMed.
124 Draft Explanation for the Law on the National Indonesian Ombudsman, Art.6(4).
125 These areas are the Province of NTT, the Special Region of the Capital City of Jakarta (Daerah Khusus Ibukota, “DKI Jakarta”), the Province of North Sumatra, Bangka Belitung, and Papua. See National Ombudsman, Annual Report (Indonesia, 2004) at 5.
126 Decree of the Regent of Asahan 419/2004 on the Local Ombudsman.
127 Email from Ms Feiby, Local Ombudsman of Manado, to Melissa Crouch, 25 April 2006.
128 Decree of the Mayor of Pangkal Pinang 28/2005 on the Local Ombudsman. See National Ombudsman, The Role of the Ombudsman in the Elimination of Corruption and the Implementation of Good Governance (Indonesia, 2005) at 11 Google Scholar [Role of the Ombudsman].
129 Draft Law of the City of Bandung on the Ombudsman.
130 Sumarto, Hetifal, Innovation, Participation and Good Governance (Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia, 2004) at 402–415 Google Scholar.
131 Email from Mr Syarifah Nuraeni, Bandung Institute of Governance Studies, to Melissa Crouch, 25 April 2006.
132 The project was said to involve 17 billion rupiah. See Local Ombudsman, The Final Conclusion Concerning Mal-administration in the CDMA Project (Indonesia, 2 February 2006)Google Scholar [Mal-administration].
133 Ibid.
134 Local Ombudsman, The Results of the LOD's Investigation in Prisons (Indonesia, September 2005)Google Scholar. That the conclusions are drawn from interviews of criminals may be a reason to doubt the findings of this study.
135 Ibid. at 19.
136 UII, Pusham and Brata, Gatra Tri, The Local Ombudsman: Towards Clean Governance (November 2005) at 14–17 Google Scholar.
137 For an explanation of the nature of these subsidies and their intended use, see “Pengumuman Tentang Dana Bantuan Operasional Sekolah” Bernas Jogja (26 September 2005).
138 “SPP Naik, Siswa Mogok” Bernas Jogja (30 October 2005) at 1, 7.
139 22 schools were found to have missed out on receiving the school subsidy: “Local Ombudsman: 22 Sekolah Belum Terima BOS” Radar Jogja (16 September 2005).
140 Hossain, Khamal et al, Human Rights Commissions and Ombudsman Offices: National Experiences Throughout the World (London: Klumer Law International, 2000) at 785–790 Google Scholar.
141 Decree 134/2004, Art.8.
142 Ibid. at Art.15.
143 Ibid. at Art.14.
144 Ibid. at Art.15(a).
145 Ibid. at Art.15(b).
146 Ibid. at Art.15(c).
147 Ibid. at Art.8(a).
148 Ibid. at Art.8(b).
149 Documents relied upon included a memorandum of understanding, letters of correspondence between the parties involved, and audits by the BPK: Local Ombudsman, supra note 132 at 1.
150 See “Kasus CDMA: Ombudsman Panggil Gubernur” Kompas (12 January 2006), online: <http://www.kompas.com.; “Soal CDMA, Kejati Periksa Mantan Ketua DPRD DIY: Pagi ini, Gubernur Dipanggil LOD” Kedaulatan Rakyat (12 January 2006) at 1, 23.
151 “Kasus CDMA: Sekda Jamin Rp 17m Kembali Tunai” Kompas (3 January 2006) at 1, online: <http://www.kompas.com>.
152 Decree 134/2004, Art.8(c).
153 Law 10/2004 on the Creation of Laws.
154 Draft Law on the National Ombudsman, Art.40.
155 Decree 134/2004, Art.8(d).
156 Ibid. at Art.8(e).
157 To the knowledge of the author, this is not an official legal term, but has received popular use in an analytical sense. See Sujata, Antonius, The Local Ombudsman: Past, Present and Future (Jakarta: National Ombudsman, 2002) at 84 Google Scholar; Masthuri, supra note 20 at 35, 45.
158 Prasetyo, Agustina and Marzuki supra note 122 at 18.
159 Maladminstration, supra note 132.
160 From initial investigations to its conclusion, the case featured in all the main local newspapers including Kompas, Radar Jogya, Kedaulatan Rakyat and Metro Jogja.
161 Finland and Sweden only prosecute about seven or eight cases a year. See Rowat, Donald C, The Ombudsman Plan: The Worldwide Spread Of An Idea (New York: University Press of America, 1985) at 70 [Rowat]Google Scholar.
162 Ibid.
163 Butterworths Concise Australian Legal Dictionary (Sydney: Butterworths, 1998)Google Scholar.
164 Pompe, supra note 2 at 11-16.
165 Rowat, supra note 161 at 71.
166 “Amien Desak KPK Turun: 29 Elemen Masyarakat Demo Di Kepatihan” Radar Jogja (17 January 2006) at 1, 7.
167 Decree 134/2004, Art.7(b).
168 Ombudsman is a Swedish word that means an “agent.”
169 Initially set up in two different locations outside the city of Yogyakarta, the Local Ombudsman and Private Ombudsman moved to a central city location in February 2006. See “LOD-LOS Segera Pindahan” Radar Jogja (8 January 2006) at 1, 7.
170 Rowat, supra note 161 at 183.
171 “DIJ Layak Masuk Darurat Korupsi” Radar Jogja (23 January 2006) at 1, 7 Google Scholar.
172 Interview with Mr Kardjono Darmoatmodjo, Ombudsman of the National Ombudsman Commission by Melissa Crouch (28 January 2006).
