A new game in town
A new game in town
A new game started being played out as soon as Tommy
Soeharto's year-long hide-and-seek caper came to an end on
Wednesday. We don't know its name yet, but the circumstances of
Tommy's arrest and its announcement by the police all suggest
that this is just the beginning of yet another game.
Since we do not know the name of the game, we cannot predict
its outcome. Ideally, justice should be the only game in town.
Yet, somehow, we doubt that we are any closer to justice today.
Wednesday's announcement by Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen.
Sofjan Jacoeb that Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the businessman
son of former president Soeharto, had been arrested was greeted
with public skepticism. The public has every reason to be
skeptical. This whole saga -- from Tommy's escape from the law
last year to his arrest on Wednesday -- has been nothing but a
charade. The police, whether wittingly or unwittingly, are all
just cast members in the show.
We have yet to hear the full story and circumstances of the
arrest and doubt that we will ever learn the truth. But even
without this, the way police accorded privileges to "Mas Tommy"
-- as those who seem to revere him like to address him -- have
raised eyebrows about how kindly the law is treating a man who is
supposed to be the most dangerous person in Indonesia. Lest we
forget, Tommy is wanted not only in connection with a corruption
case, but also with the murder of a senior judge and a series of
bombings in Jakarta over the past year.
Yet, what the nation watched on Wednesday night through their
television sets was a scene from "Return of the Prodigal Son" and
not the arrest of a wanted man who has the potential to do
extensive damage to the country. It was totally improper for
Sofjan and other senior police officers to hug Tommy and give him
a peck on the cheek, and later for the police chief to offer his
own office for Tommy to receive his relatives and lawyers.
The media conference called by Sofjan to announce Tommy's
arrest turned into a circus. The media became very much part of
the circus, diligently recording every word that came out of
Sofjan's mouth.
Besides lavishing praise on "Mas Tommy", who was seated next
to him, for cooperating with the arresting officers, Sofjan
turned the press conference into something of a public relations
gimmick, highlighting the arrest as a major achievement for which
he and his men would probably be richly rewarded. Coming on the
eve of the appointment of a new National Police chief, many
cynically view the arrest as something of a timely personal gift
for the incoming chief, Insp. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, which will also
secure Sofjan's position.
It is worth reminding that Tommy's arrest is very late in
coming. It is more a reflection of police incompetence than a
major success, as Sofjan would have us believe. It was police
incompetence that allowed Tommy to flee the law shortly after a
court convicted him to 18 months imprisonment for corruption last
year. It was police incompetence that allowed Tommy to escape on
more than one occasion, even after they detected his whereabouts.
And it was also police incompetence that led to the many as-yet
unexplained bombings in Jakarta and other cities. And now that we
learn that Tommy may have something to do with some of these
bombings, the rest of the nation has suffered because of the
police's incompetence.
Having said that, let's not underestimate Tommy and what he is
capable of doing. The son of former president Soeharto is a man
of many means. He has money and power, as well as friends and
connections in high places, even if his father is no longer in
power. This is a man with a huge capacity to cause damage or
harm, if he wants to, or alternatively, to buy his way out of
trouble.
The way he has eluded the law all this time is evidence of his
power. The way the Supreme Court overturned his guilty verdict in
relation to the corruption case, even after he had implied his
guilt by seeking a presidential pardon, is another indication of
his power. Although the court will still have to prove
allegations that he ordered the July killing of M. Syafiuddin
Kartasasmita, or the police allegations that he had a role in
some of the recent bombings, they are nevertheless indicative of
what this man is capable of.
It is not our intention to belittle the significance of
Tommy's arrest. On the contrary, we feel he could provide clues
to so many questions that have no answers to this day, whether it
is about the way our judiciary works, how the law enforcement
agencies, including the police, work, and about many unresolved
major corruption cases.
Tommy's case will be a real test of the nation's commitment to
reform. Handled properly, it could become the impetus to restart
the national reform agenda. If the public is skeptical, that is
because we have been deceived too many times before. Whatever new
game is being played out following Tommy's arrest, we should
postpone any celebrations until we see real justice upheld.