Gus Dur's refusal to name chief justice attacked<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid has
\nprovided illogical arguments to support his rejection of the
\nHouse of Representatives' candidates for the chief justice
\nposition, a seminar concluded on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Legal experts speaking at the seminar also suggested that Gus
\nDur choose the best of the two proposed nominees for the sake of
\ncontrol over all levels of trial proceedings, the job performed
\nby a chief justice.<\/p>\n
Hamid Awaluddin, director of the Center for Public Policy
\nStudies (Puskap), criticized the President for rejecting the
\ncandidates merely based on the fact that they were part of the
\nformer regime.<\/p>\n
\"Even the House members and the President were raised by the
\nold regime. So it is incorrect to use that stigma to restrict the
\ncandidates' rights for the position,\" Hamid said.<\/p>\n
He said the candidates could only lose their rights if the
\nHouse or the President provided evidence of wrongdoing committed
\nin the past.<\/p>\n
The House has selected former minister of justice Muladi and
\nlaw professor Bagir Manan to fill the Supreme Court's top post in
\naccordance with the Supreme Court Law No. 14\/1985. The law
\nstipulates that the President should select one of the two.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman said that another reason preventing him from
\naccepting either of the candidates was due to the absence of Vice
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri's approval, as well as the fact
\nthat the House was also divided over the nomination of Muladi and
\nBagir.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman suggested the legislators pick other candidates.<\/p>\n
The House is now preparing a formal response to the
\nPresident's decision.<\/p>\n
Reports indicate that the legislators will insist that
\nAbdurrahman appoint one of the two candidates already proposed
\nbecause it is his responsibility as the head of state.<\/p>\n
Another speaker in the discussion, United Development Party
\n(PPP) faction chairman Ali Marwan Hanan, said that Abdurrahman
\ncould be charged with violating the Constitution if he resisted
\nthe House's choices, saying the legislators could not repeat the
\nscreening process.<\/p>\n
\"We have conducted a very strict and fair test to assess the
\ncandidates' quality and moral integrity. We even asked the
\ndirector-general of excise and taxation to tell us whether they
\nare good tax payers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ali said that another controversy arose when legislators and
\nthe President argued about the number of members who should be
\nappointed to the Audit Commission for State Officials' Wealth
\n(KPKPN). The issue was eventually settled through \"consensus\".<\/p>\n
Other speakers, chairman of the National Ombudsman Commission
\nAntonius Sudjata and lawyer Yan Djuanda Saputra, were of the same
\nopinion that the House had fulfilled their duties and it was
\nAbdurrahman's responsibility to now select the best candidate for
\nthe chief justice post.<\/p>\n
\"We badly need a Supreme Court chief to monitor all levels of
\ntrial proceedings in the country. Of the 2,073 cases submitted to
\nthe commission until Dec. 31, 2000, 38 percents of them relate to
\ncorruption in judicial institutions,\" Sudjata said. (bby)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-durs-refusal-to-name-chief-justice-attacked-1447893297",
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