In the shadow of Lopa<\/p>\n
The crusade to create a clean and democratic government is no
\neasy job for developing nations, especially Indonesia which has
\nbeen widely known as one of the most corrupt countries on this
\nplanet.<\/p>\n
Before President Megawati Soekarnoputri named Muhammad Abdul
\nRachman, a career public prosecutor, as the new attorney general
\non Tuesday, our nation had turned itself inside out in an effort
\nto find the right man to fill the post, which is a pivotal pillar
\nto upholding supremacy of the law. The post had been left vacant
\nfollowing the unexpected death of Baharuddin Lopa in early July.<\/p>\n
Although Lopa held the post for less than one month, he
\ndeserves our admiration and great respect -- because he was
\nexceptional. Lopa was so full of integrity, strength, honesty and
\nsincerity that he had enough courage to start his lone crusade
\nagainst corruption more than two decades ago. The government and
\nthe general public recognized his meritorious deeds. Megawati
\nposthumously awarded him a prestigious medal of merit on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
And so exceptional was Lopa that perhaps every thinking
\ncitizen agreed that he was almost impossible to replace. This
\ngroup of people included Megawati, the President. When she
\nannounced her first Cabinet lineup last week, the President was
\nstill unable to find someone to replace Lopa. She certainly did
\nnot want to be accused of making the national fight against
\ncorruption a small-time job.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, the difficulty in finding an adequate
\nreplacement has been influenced by popular logic demanding that
\nthey must be well known for their honesty. Megawati was not
\nexpected to try to find such a person in the Attorney General's
\nOffice because the effort would be akin to trying to find a
\nneedle in a haystack. If she were to appoint someone from the
\noffice, it would be near impossible for the new attorney general
\nto take action against his own colleagues. So, the vacancy had to
\nbe filled with an expert from outside.<\/p>\n
While Rachman was sworn in on Wednesday, many people were in
\nthe dark about his track record. He was known among a small
\ncircle and, although he once worked for Lopa and received special
\nguidance from him, that does equate to inheriting Lopa's
\ncharacter.<\/p>\n
The President has faced an extremely difficult assignment.
\nHowever, judging by her instruction to the new attorney general
\nthat he make his new house clean -- because it has been
\nnotoriously dirty in the eyes of the public -- Megawati must be
\nconvinced that Rachman is an honest man. At least the most honest
\namong all the candidates. We hope that the new attorney general
\nwill not be the first point of weakness within the Cabinet.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/in-the-shadow-of-lopa-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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