AGO to propose deputy candidates

JAKARTA: Attorney General M.A. Rachman will propose to President Megawati Soekarnoputri three candidates for the post left vacant by Vice Attorney General Soeparman, who is retiring.

Rachman refused on Monday to disclose any name, but said all the three candidates were senior prosecutors whose experience included a tenure as Deputy Attorney General.

The President has the prerogative to appoint the attorney general and their deputy.

Rachman officially sent off Soeparman on Monday in a ceremony at the Attorney General's Office in South Jakarta. Soeparman was named acting attorney general in place of ailing Baharuddin Lopa, who died last July.

Former Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes Ramelan, who is now Rachman's adviser, and the current Deputy Attorney General for Intelligence Affairs, Basrief Arief, have been touted as strong candidates to replace Soeparman. -- JP