Another slap in the face

A slap in the face once gain for the government with the arrest of a leading Attorney General’s Office prosecutor who allegedly took bribes from businessman Syamsul Nursalim. Urip Tri Gunawan, who headed an investigation on missing billions of dollars in bank bailout funds (BLBI) in the 1990s, was caught red handed by Anti Commission (KPK) investigators last week as he left Nursalim’s house holding US$ 660,000 in cash. Urip denied all charges reasoning that he was there to complete a jewelry business transaction. Nursalim’s bank owes the government Rp 40 trillion but Nursalim was acquitted of all charges as his assets had been confiscated and sold to the state to repay debts (but his assets only yielded Rp 1.8 trillion!). The BLBI case has caused widespread frustration and anger given that many bankers were let off without charges. And now the sentiment is growing much more with the discovery of a shadowy figure who is well acquainted by the conglomerates as well as members of the DPR. She is Arthalita Suryani, who was also arrested on charges she bribed Urip. Suryani, known more as Ibu Ayin, had been described as the person who acted as “courier” for Nursalim as well as for Salim, another conglomerate who is also implicated in the BLBI case. Ibu Ayin, who is also close to Gus Dur’s PKB party, had often acted as the ATMs (automated teller machines) for the conglomerates in dealing with their cases (it is public secret that there may be more shadowy figures such as Ibu Ayin). But at least for now, the arrest of both Tri and Ibu Ayin is expected to shed more light on the much illegal wrongdoings of the conglomerates and corrupt practices at DPR. Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s Office should do house cleaning more often. Otherwise, further damage to the nation’s credibility can no longer be prevented and the dramatic events will only look like a good movie to watch.