You cannot hunt for rats by burning down the granary,' KPK says

KASUS SUAP MEIKARTA - JAKARTA. The national antigraft agency said the Lippo Group has not been implicated in a case involving subsidiary, Mahkota Sentosa Utama, in the alleged bribery of district officials in Bekasi, West Java, to obtain permits for the latter's Meikarta flagship property development in Cikarang.

"The parent [group] has no business in this case," Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Alexander Marwata said on Thursday.

"You cannot hunt for rats by burning down the granary. You just close the rat hole," Alex said.

The KPK questioned prominent businessman James Riady as a witness on Tuesday, at which time he pledged his support and full cooperation in the investigation.

Alex said companies often complain to the KPK about difficulties in obtaining permits and that some are pushed to a point where they feel there is no other option but to pay extortion fees to obtain the required documents.

For this reason, the KPK will focus on improving aspects of the bureaucracy in the region, particularly in Bekasi district, he added.

"The paradigm is far different now. The president himself has ordered the process of obtaining permits to be made easier, not more complicated," he said, referring to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's ambition of Indonesia joining the top 40 nations in the World Bank's annual Ease of Doing Business ranking by 2019.