Yudhoyono calls for equality before law in corruption war

Suara Indonesia News - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday called on the
country's law enforcers to uphold equality before the law in the
fight against corruption.

"Fairness is a must. We cannot probe certain cases but overlook
others. It's fairness for all," the President said as he opened
a plenary Cabinet meeting at his office, with Vice President
Jusuf Kalla also in attendance.

Yudhoyono admitted upholding fairness was the real test facing
the country in eradicating corruption.

Critics claim there is a lack of fairness in the Corruption
Eradication Commission's (KPK) investigation of the Bank
Indonesia scandal, in which former BI deputy governor Aulia
Pohan in implicated. Aulia is the father-in-law of Yudhoyono's
son Agus Harimurti. When indicting former BI governor Burhanuddin Abdullah, KPK
prosecutors said the alleged embezzlement of Rp 100 billion in
BI funds was a collective decision by the central bank's board
of governors, which included Aulia.

Aulia has several times testified in court during Burhanuddin's
trial.

The KPK has not named him a suspect, despite court findings
linking him to the graft case.

"I ask the KPK, the Attorney General's Office and the police to
enforce the law properly. There should be no political motives
behind any investigation. This is purely about legal matters,"
the President said.

"I myself should uphold fairness. I will let law enforcers
investigate anyone if necessary."

KPK chief Antasari Azhar hinted recently that naming Aulia as a
suspect in the case was merely a matter of time.

The President was upbeat his administration would maintain its
achievements in the fight against corruption.

He said the country's anticorruption campaign was beginning to
bear fruit, as evident in the Clean Government program.

He singled out the Directorate General of Tax and the
Directorate General of Customs and Excise as government
institutions that had successfully fought graft through
bureaucratic reform.

"Our tax revenue contributes a lot to the state budget, but we
still have a long way to go," Yudhoyono said. (RED)