No more delays on Akbar: Bagir<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Supreme Court chief Bagir Manan defended on Thursday the judges'
\ndecision to delay the announcement of their verdict on House of
\nRepresentatives speaker Akbar Tandjung.<\/p>\n
The delay did not violate existing regulations, even though
\nthe judges had actually reached an agreement, he said.<\/p>\n
Bagir said the delay was due to technical reasons as "the
\npanel of judges wants to be sure that everything is perfect."<\/p>\n
"Of course, they (the judges) should not be careless because
\npeople will not tolerate any misspellings or other inaccuracies
\nin drafting the verdict," he said.<\/p>\n
However, the chief justice promised that there would be no
\nmore delays next week.<\/p>\n
The judges on Wednesday reached a consensus on the much-
\nawaited verdict on an appeal of Akbar's corruption conviction to
\nthe Supreme Court, but decided to delay announcing it until Feb.
\n12.<\/p>\n
Akbar, also the Golkar Party chairman and a presidential
\nhopeful, submitted the appeal several months ago.<\/p>\n
The prolonged delays have sparked widespread speculation of
\nbackroom deals and political intrigue against or in favor of
\nAkbar.<\/p>\n
If Akbar's conviction was to be upheld by the Supreme Court,
\nhis political career could be finished, but if exonerated, he
\ncould pose a serious challenge to President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri and other candidates in the upcoming presidential
\nelection, according to analysts.<\/p>\n
The Central Jakarta District Court in September 2002 found
\nAkbar guilty of embezzling Rp 40 billion in state funds, which
\nwere to go to a food-for-the-poor program in 1999. He was
\nsentenced to three years, but has remained free and continues his
\njob as House speaker.<\/p>\n
At the time of the crime, he was the state secretary in the
\nCabinet of former president B.J. Habibie.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta High Court upheld Akbar's conviction in January
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
Legal expert Topo Santoso from the University of Indonesia
\n(UI) concurred with Bagir, saying the delay in announcing the
\nverdict was not necessarily a violation of the court's own
\nregulations, but it was a violation of justice.<\/p>\n
He remarked that it was extremely unfortunate that the Supreme
\nCourt had failed to respond to the aspirations of so many people
\nwho have been waiting for so long for this verdict.<\/p>\n
"Corruption cases that implicate top officials always have a
\nspotlight on them and are barometers for the public to judge
\nwhether the country's legal system is on the right track," Topo
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He questioned how the judges dealing with terror suspects
\nmanaged to conclude their cases with in very timely, efficient
\nfashion, even though such cases were actually more complicated
\nthan graft scandals.<\/p>\n
"The universal legal system recognizes the principle that
\ndelaying justice is a violation of justice itself. And this
\nprinciple can be applied to Akbar or the public," Topo said.<\/p>\n
Prominent lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis called the Akbar case a
\nmajor political scandal and said that it could have serious
\nconsequences on the country's political situation.<\/p>\n
"I can understand the circumstances around the judges while
\nmaking a decision. We shouldn't bother with the delay of the
\nverdict as along as it will respect the supremacy of law," he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/no-more-delays-on-akbar-bagir-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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