Prosecutions indicted over poor showing<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
\"Huuuu...! That's what you get when you skip classes all the
\ntime,\" spectators at the Anticorruption Court in Jakarta once
\nmocked a prosecutor who was warned by the presiding judge to
\ndeliver clear and intelligent questions to the defendant,
\nAbdullah Puteh, who has been suspended as Aceh governor while
\nbeing tried for graft.<\/p>\n
About five kilometers away, a 25-year-old man sat in a corner
\nof a West Jakarta courthouse holding a cell phone. He had figured
\nout how to obtain Rp 4 million (about US$430) in a week to meet
\nthe prosecutor's demand so that the sentence demand for his
\nbother, on trial on drug charges, could be reduced from the
\nexpected four years.<\/p>\n
Both cases illustrate the poor quality of state prosecutors
\nand rampant bribery among them, which drew the attention of the
\nAsian Development Bank (ADB) when assessing the performance of
\nIndonesian law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n
\"Like the police and courts, this prestigious (prosecutor's)
\ninstitution is widely criticized for failing to bring about
\njustice. The poor quality of prosecution was shown in highly
\npublicized cases, such as those related to human rights abuses in
\nEast Timor as well as in corruption cases against high-ranking
\nofficials,\" said the ADB report titled Government Assessment
\nReport-Indonesia.<\/p>\n
It said no specific measure existed for evaluating the
\nperformance of prosecutors, including those in management
\npositions.<\/p>\n
\"The skills required for management positions are not defined,
\nso candidates are not necessarily selected on the basis of their
\nskills or the needs of the organization,\" the 125-page report
\nstates.<\/p>\n
However, the ADB also noticed that reforms undertaken by the
\ninstitution were centralized and top-down in nature. Some key
\naspects of reform were beyond the institution's jurisdiction,
\nsuch as the requirement of the Office of the State Minister of
\nAdministrative Reforms to restructure the organization.<\/p>\n
The report also stresses that the institutional reform of the
\npublic prosecution services depend merely on the political will
\nand leadership of the president and coordination between several
\nministers and the House of Representatives, which causes it to
\nowe allegiance to the state.<\/p>\n
An unnamed source at the Attorney General's Office confirmed
\nthat rapid changes in the institution's leadership partly
\ncontributed to the slow pace of reform.<\/p>\n
\"We have had six bosses in six years. What kind of reform can
\nbe done under such circumstances? Worst still, I once had four
\nbosses in a week! That happened during Habibie's presidency.
\nMonday it was Ghalib; Tuesday Faisal Tanjung; Wednesday Muladi,
\nand Friday it was Ismudjoko. Each assumed office for just one day
\nbefore they were replaced by the president. I bet not even one
\nneighborhood (RT) head has experienced such a thing,\" said the
\nsource.<\/p>\n
The poor quality of prosecutors is made worse by the minimum
\nbudget the office receives from the state. This has led the
\ninstitution to look for revenue outside of the budget, which
\naccording to a source came from traffic tickets, court fines and
\nother court-related revenue.<\/p>\n
\"Relying on off-budget revenues has far-reaching consequences
\nfor the organization. First, it institutionalizes corruption,
\nundermining the very purpose of the prosecution services in
\npromoting law and justice ... Second, performance cannot be
\naccurately reviewed if major parts of financing are unknown,\" the
\nreport said. (006)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prosecutions-indicted-over-poor-showing-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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