Indonesian tax officer Gayus Tambunan at the court detention cell in Jakarta. He was jailed for seven years after a trial packed with sensational revelations. -- PHOTO: AFP
JAKARTA - THE jailing of a rogue tax official whose exploits shocked Indonesia will do little to improve President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's standing as a corruption fighter, analysts said.
Gayus Tambunan, 31, who managed to amass US$3.1 million (S$4 million) despite being on a wage of just several hundred dollars a week, was jailed for seven years on Wednesday after a trial packed with sensational revelations.
Tambunan said he helped scores of corporations - including some belonging to the family of one of Indonesia's most powerful politicians, Golkar party president Aburizal Bakrie - evade hundreds of millions of dollars in tax.
He also admitted bribing prison guards to release him from his remand cell for dozens of 'vacations', and produced a fake passport for trips to Singapore, Malaysia and Macau when he was supposed to be behind bars. On one occasion, the tubby taxman was caught on camera wearing a wig at a tennis tournament in Bali while officials said he was secure in his cell in Jakarta.
Indonesia Corruption Watch deputy coordinator Emerson Yuntho said the authorities' handling of the Gayus case undermined Dr Yudhoyono's repeated election promises to crack down on corruption.
'There's an impression that Yudhoyono does not care about the anti-corruption drive. We see him moving slowly,' he said. 'After the first year (of his second term), people have started to lose their faith. The people aren't blind. The president has to find a way to gain the public trust.'
He said there were many different interests caught up in the Gayus case. 'There will be many people who will be under fire if the authorities investigate further the people surrounding the case.' -- AFP
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