No progress in war on graft: Bagir<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government's campaign to eradicate corruption since the onset
\nof the reform movement four years ago was nothing more than half-
\nhearted slogans as the crime was still rampant, Chief Justice
\nBagir Manan complained.<\/p>\n
But Bagir denied allegations that his judges were to blame for
\ncontributing to poor law enforcement in the corruption fight.<\/p>\n
\"The corruption cases brought to the court took place in the
\npast, but, based on people's judgment and knowledge, corruption
\nis still rampant and much more iniquitous compared with that in
\nthe past,\" Bagir said as quoted by Antara in Surabaya.<\/p>\n
\"And if the public suspicions are correct, then we have to
\naccept the fact that the burden to eradicate corruption should
\nnot be laid on the shoulders of the courts or the judiciary
\nalone,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Bagir further suggested a reform in bureaucracy which included
\na supervisory system in a bid to close the avenues of corruption.<\/p>\n
Bagir was speaking during a national meeting of judges from
\nvarious courts, including the human rights court.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian judiciary is now under international scrutiny
\nfor its poor performance and its failure to curb corruption,
\nwhich was corroborated by the findings of a special rapporteur
\nsent by the United Nations in July.<\/p>\n
Many legal experts and practitioners support the findings and
\nsay that all the law enforcement institutions, namely police,
\nlawyers, prosecutors and judges, are involved in graft.<\/p>\n
Since the revelation, some court verdicts have gone against
\ncorruption suspects, including former state secretary Akbar
\nTandjung -- now the House of Representatives speaker -- who was
\ndeclared guilty of taking Rp 40 billion (US$4.4 million) of state
\nfunds.<\/p>\n
But in other cases, verdicts ran counter to the anti-
\ncorruption drive, including the lenient one-year jail term for
\nbanker David Nusa Wijaya, who is still abroad, for stealing Rp
\n1.27 trillion in state funds.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta High Court verdict that overruled a three-year
\nsentence for Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin is also
\nregarded by many as a step backward.<\/p>\n
The facts, according to Bagir, have resulted in people's total
\ndistrust in the judiciary, but added that some verdicts should go
\nin favor of the defendants and he had great respect for judges
\nwhen did acquit.<\/p>\n
\"I respect the panel of judges who take the risk of acquitting
\na defendant if the evidence does not support the charges, as it
\nshows judges' high integrity,\" he remarked.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/no-progress-in-war-on-graft-bagir-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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