Still hope for justice<\/p>\n
More than a week has passed since the Padang District Court
\nsentenced 43 members of West Sumatra's 55-strong provincial
\nlegislature to prison for corruption, besides ordering the guilty
\nlegislators to return the embezzled money in full and pay more
\nthan a Rp 100 hundred million each in fines. The case involved
\nthe embezzlement of insurance premiums, housing allowances,
\ncellular phone credits and other allowances allocated to council
\nmembers in the 2002 budget.<\/p>\n
In terms of the amount of misappropriated money, this case may
\nnot be as spectacular as other corruption cases that have been
\nexposed by the media over the years involving trillions. Judges
\nhearing the trial have put this amount at Rp 6.4 billion, while
\nprosecutors said \"only\" Rp 5.9 million had been misappropriated.<\/p>\n
Instead, it is the judiciary's daring to act with apparent
\nimpartiality and against so many in such a high-profile case that
\nhas drawn the public's attention.<\/p>\n
Naturally, the public has been waiting to see how the case
\nwould develop -- especially since prosecutors in the West Java
\nport city of Cirebon had similarly named all 30 members of its
\ncity council as graft suspects. Concurrently, other graft cases
\nin regions across the country are in various stages of judicial
\nprocesses or investigations.<\/p>\n
By any standard, however, the Padang and Cirebon cases can be
\nconsidered landmark cases, the one main difference being that
\nwhile the Cirebon case is still being investigated, in Padang, a
\nverdict has been handed down, even though all 43 defendants
\nremain free pending their appeal to a higher court.<\/p>\n
Whatever the final verdict, however, the local district
\ncourt's decision marks the first time that an Indonesian
\njudiciary has mustered the courage -- or impartiality -- to
\npenalize almost an entire legislature and render it obsolete.<\/p>\n
Obviously, the political and social consequences that such
\njudicial impartiality may bring to this country, if upheld, would
\nbe considerable. Hopefully, the Padang verdict can serve as a
\ntimely warning to legislators elected during the recent general
\nelections.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, West Sumatra High Court president Sumbar Mohammad
\nBahaudin Qadry is reported to have assured the public that he
\nwill prioritize the case, especially because the crime was
\ncommitted by the legislative leadership in collusion with
\nmembers.<\/p>\n
No less important a lesson provided by the Padang case is the
\nsignificance of honest people speaking out against graft and
\ncorruption. This particular case, for example, came to the
\nattention of the public -- and law enforcers -- after one irate
\nWest Sumatra legislator publicly complained about his colleagues'
\ndishonesty. His outcry prompted a local civic organization to
\npressure the provincial prosecutor's office to investigate, and
\nthus the judicial process was set in motion.<\/p>\n
It is worth stressing, once again, that the fight against
\ncorruption is everybody's business, and is not one that can be
\nleft to the discretion of law enforcers and the judiciary alone.
\nThe more the public is encouraged to speak out against these
\nblatant acts of injustice, the greater the chance that the
\nappropriate arms of the law will react and the fight will be won.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/still-hope-for-justice-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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