AGO launches internal reform drive
Eva C. Komandjaja and Rendi Witular, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) launched an internal reform program compiled in a book titled Agenda Pembaruan Kejaksaan RI during its 45th anniversary ceremony attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the AGO building on Friday.
The 12 points of reform program was established due to criticism from the public and the President that the AGO had not done its best to solve cases of human rights abuses and other crimes, especially graft cases.
The reorganization program -- which, among other things, includes an overhaul of the office's human resources management and recruitment process, and reforming the method of investigation and prosecution -- will be among the first steps to be taken by the AGO in its reform drive.
Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh said that changes in the case management system would enable the public to access information on the legal process of cases more easily as there would be transparency in the system, thus making AGO prosecutors more professional and accountable in their work.
Supervision of prosecutors' performance would also be a top priority.
Fourteen people were recently selected to be on the prosecutors commission as regulated in Presidential Decree No. 18/2005.
Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged prosecutors and police to intensify their efforts in eliminating corruption within their institutions.
In a speech delivered during the ceremony, Susilo ordered the attorney general and police chief Gen. Sutanto to severely punish any of their officials implicated in corruption.
"If corruption remains among law enforcers, the public's acknowledgement of and trust in them will remain low, and eventually our efforts in combating corruption will be meaningless," said Susilo.
Susilo said corrupt law enforcers included those who used their authority to enrich themselves by extorting money from people, or those who colluded with bad people in return for compensation.
"The government's anticorruption drive will be jeopardized if prosecutors or police still commit corruption, which could eventually be exposed to the public," he said.
According to AGO data, 961 graft cases have been processed by the special crimes division but only 149 cases have been completed.