Gus Dur calls for proof of innocence in graft case trials<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid, in an effort to
\nfight the rampant practice of corruption, called on Wednesday for
\nthe shift of the burden of proof system, which will require
\ndefendants to prove that they are not guilty.<\/p>\n
\"The government is considering selectively implementing the
\nreverse system for corruption and narcotics cases,\" the President
\nsaid in the introduction of his reply to the House of
\nRepresentatives' first memorandum of censure in a House plenary
\nsession on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Under the new procedure, the accused must prove that they
\nacquired money or other assets legally.<\/p>\n
Currently, it is the prosecutors who have to prove that the
\ndefendant is guilty.<\/p>\n
The President said the government was considering drafting a
\nbill on the reverse procedure against corruption because
\nprosecutors regularly experience technical and legal difficulties
\nin providing evidence in corruption cases.<\/p>\n
\"I call on the House of Representatives to make it into a law
\nas soon as possible,\" Wahid said.<\/p>\n
He said he has ordered the Cabinet secretary to prepare
\nnecessary regulations on the reverse system while the bill has
\nyet to be passed into law.<\/p>\n
Bachtiar Chamsyah, former chairman of the House's already-
\ndissolved special committee that investigated the Bulog and
\nBrunei scams, hailed the President's call.<\/p>\n
\"We should appreciate the President's statement but he should
\nfirst set a good example by providing evidence that he is not
\ninvolved in the two financial scandals,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that in his speech read by Minister of Justice and
\nHuman Rights Baharuddin Lopa, the President failed to prove he
\nwas not guilty in the two cases.<\/p>\n
He also said the government could issue a regulation in lieu
\nof a law on the new reverse system because making a law will take
\na long time.<\/p>\n
Attorney General Marzuki Darusman supported the idea to shift
\nthe burden of proof in order to combat corruption more
\neffectively.<\/p>\n
\"We will learn about the possible enforcement of the reverse
\nprocedure in the investigation of corruption cases in the
\nfuture,\" he said after a hearing with the House's Commission II
\nfor home and legal affairs on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Adi Andojo Soetjipto, former chief of the Joint Anti-
\nCorruption Team (TGPTK), concurred but regretted that members of
\nthe political elite are not fully committed to staging an all out
\nbattle against corruption.<\/p>\n
\"The absence of strong commitment is seen in the government's
\ndissatisfying response to the joint team's proposal to declare a
\nstate of emergency due to the rampant practice of corruption,\" he
\ntold The Jakarta Post by phone.<\/p>\n
He said both the government and the House were not committed
\nto fight against corruption, which it still prevalent among state
\nofficials.<\/p>\n
\"That is why I recently quit the joint team,\" said the former
\nsupreme court justice, who has long suggested the implementation
\nof the reverse system to shift the burden of proof.<\/p>\n
He said that the system is partly stipulated in the 1999 law
\non anti-corruption, but it has yet to be enforced because of the
\nabsence of serious commitment among law enforcers and members of
\nthe political elite. (rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-dur-calls-for-proof-of-innocence-in-graft-case-trials-1447893297",
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