Judge Benjamin gives 'Tempo' ray of hope<\/p>\n
By T. Sima Gunawan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Judge Benjamin Mangkoedilaga, whose verdict on
\nthe Tempo case became a landmark in the judiciary, has an advice
\nfor the weekly's diehard journalists: \"Don't ever lose your
\nhope.\"<\/p>\n
\"You may lose everything, including the publishing license,
\nbut don't ever lose your hope for good things,\" Benjamin said.<\/p>\n
Benjamin, head of the Jakarta State Administrative Court, and
\nassociate judges Sumaryono and Tengku Abdul Rahman Husni,
\nrecently ruled in favor of Tempo's former chief editor Goenawan
\nMohamad and its 40 former staff members. On May 3, the judge
\nstated that the government's decision to revoke Tempo's
\npublishing license was unlawful, and ordered the defendant,
\nMinister of Information Harmoko, to issue a new license for the
\nweekly.<\/p>\n
The decision, however, is not final as Harmoko has stated he
\nwill appeal to the High State Administrative Court in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"If the high court grants the minister's appeal, I will
\nrespect the decision, even though I disagree with it,\" Benjamin
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"As for the plaintiffs, they will have a chance to appeal to
\nthe Supreme Court,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Benjamin acknowledges that there will not be any guarantee
\nthat the Supreme Court will rule in favor of Tempo's former
\neditor and staff members.<\/p>\n
\"Everything is unpredictable. Everything is possible,\" he said
\nin an interview with The Jakarta Post early this week.<\/p>\n
Benjamin called upon both the plaintiffs and the defendant to
\nrespect the final decision.<\/p>\n
Even if Tempo loses, the journalists shouldn't lose their hope
\nfor good things, Benjamin asserted again.<\/p>\n
Tempo's former journalists and employees have been split into
\ntwo groups. Some of them took the offer of timber tycoon Bob
\nHasan to establish a new magazine called Gatra, but some others
\ninsisted on having their own, independent magazine.<\/p>\n
Criticism<\/p>\n
Tempo was banned on June 21, 1994, for its editorial content.
\nTwo other news weeklies, Editor and DeTik, were closed at the
\nsame time. The multiple bannings shocked and upset the public,
\ndrawing severe criticism from both inside and outside the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Unlike Editor and DeTik, which did not take the case to court,
\nTempo filed five separate lawsuits against the government.<\/p>\n
The recent favorable court decision was beyond public
\nexpectation. Many people, including the weekly's former editor
\nGoenawan Mohamad, had expressed skepticism about the possibility
\nthat Tempo would win. There have been many reports about the mess
\nof Indonesia's legal system, such as the government's
\ninterference in judiciary, which has eroded public trust of the
\ncourts.<\/p>\n
Just like the June 1994 bannings, the recent verdict also drew
\nattention here and abroad. Benjamin made headlines and was
\nshowered with praise.<\/p>\n
\"I was thankful and happy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Appreciation is worth more than material things, he added.<\/p>\n
Aware that his decision had brought great pleasure and
\namazement to the public, Benjamin called upon the people to be
\ncalm.<\/p>\n
\"Remember what President Soeharto said about not being easily
\nsurprised and astonished,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He referred to Soeharto's words: aja dumeh, aja gumunan, aja
\nkagetan (don't be smug, don't be easily astonished and don't be
\neasily shocked or surprised).<\/p>\n
The public applause to his decision didn't change Benjamin.<\/p>\n
\"I am just a common man. I am not a star,\" he stressed.<\/p>\n
Benjamin's verdict on Tempo's case was not the first
\ncontroversial decision he has made. In 1986, as a Bandung
\nDistrict Court judge, he sentenced a woman to death for killing
\nher husband.<\/p>\n
In April this year, he also ruled against the Minister of
\nTrade who had revoked the business licenses of five future
\ntrading companies.<\/p>\n
But Benjamin has not always sided with the people.<\/p>\n
He turned down the suit filed by Cimacan, West Java, farmers
\nwho claimed that their land was seized to make way for the
\nopening of a golf course. The farmers lost because they could not
\nproduce a document to prove their ownership on the land. Benjamin
\nmade the decision in 1989 when he was the head of the Cianjur
\nDistrict Court.<\/p>\n
Benjamin denied the accusations by some people who say that
\nthere is no legal certainty in Indonesia. Instead, he showed
\nunderstanding about criticism over the lack of justice in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
He is aware that there are some judges who step out of the
\nline, saying that people will make mistakes.<\/p>\n
\"A judge should have the character of a judge,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He implied that a judge isn't a businessman who trades law to
\nmake profit.<\/p>\n
He said judges don't make a lot of money, but he believes that
\nthere must be a way to cope with the financial problem.<\/p>\n
\"I have just got an offer to teach at a prestigious university
\nin town,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Benjamin is obviously against bribery in the handling of court
\ncases, but early reports said he doesn't mind receiving gifts
\nfrom people who win court cases he has presided over.<\/p>\n
The judge, however, refused to discuss the reports.<\/p>\n
\"Don't ask me such things,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that a judge should be wise, persistent and tough.<\/p>\n
A judge should be tough because not all people will like the
\njudgments he or she makes.<\/p>\n
\"The winner will hail the decision, but the loser will roar,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
He knows there are people who didn't like his decision in the
\nTempo's case, but that doesn't worry him because he believes he
\ndid the right thing.<\/p>\n
He said there was nothing special about the case.<\/p>\n
\"It was just a common case. Our duty (in the administrative
\ncourt) is to examine administrative decisions made by the
\ngovernment,\" he said.<\/p>\n
It was not a matter of having the courage to rule against the
\ngovernment, according to the judge. The decision should be based
\non what the judges believe to be true.<\/p>\n
\"People do not have to lose all the time,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Benjamin said that he had never experienced any pressure from
\nthe government in connection with the Tempo's case.<\/p>\n
He said he was not afraid that the decision might affect his
\ncareer as a judge.<\/p>\n
\"What is my mistake?\" he asked.<\/p>\n
A graduate of the University of Indonesia's School of Law in
\n1967 and also the first leader of the university's marching band,
\nBenjamin said he became a judge \"by accident\". He said he had to
\nabandon his dream to become a naval officer or a locomotive
\nengineer as he could not resist his father's insistence that he
\nstudy law.<\/p>\n
His first job as a judge was in the Rangkasbitung District
\nCourt, West Java, where he was on duty for seven years. In 1974
\nhe was transferred to the Denpasar District Court.<\/p>\n
He spent four years studying state administrative courts in
\nParis, from 1977 to 1979, and from 1984 to 1985.<\/p>\n
He had been a North Jakarta District Court judge and chief of
\nthe Cianjur District Court in West Java before the government
\nappointed him head of the Surabaya State Administrative Court in
\n1991.<\/p>\n
On May 18, 1993, he was assigned to Jakarta State
\nAdministrative Court.<\/p>\n
\"I still have a long way to go. I have to be careful in
\nbuilding my career,\" the 58-year-old Benjamin said.<\/p>\n
He said he thanked God for his position as head of the Jakarta
\nState Administrative Court, which is \"prestigious\" and
\n\"strategic\". But he hopes he still has a chance to go higher with
\nhis career.<\/p>\n
\"All army members want to become chief of staff. All judges
\nwant to become a chief justice,\" he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
He quoted first president Sukarno as saying Hang jauw idealen
\naan de sterren, als ze daan niet hangen, uallen ze neer (hang
\nyour ideal on a star, otherwise it will fall down).<\/p>\n
Asked if he admired Sukarno, he said he admired all people who
\nwere accomplished in their fields, including artist W.S. Rendra,
\ntennis player Yayuk Basuki, shuttler Susi Susanti and singer Nike
\nArdilla, who died earlier this year in a road mishap at the age
\nof 19.<\/p>",
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