AGO to soon set up oversight body

JAKARTA: Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh said that a public prosecution service oversight commission was expected to be set up soon after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recently issued a letter supporting its establishment.

"I've been given the letter and I will soon submit the proposal for a presidential decree authorizing the recruitment of commission members," he told The Jakarta Post after a ceremony at the State Palace on Wednesday.

Abdul Rahman promised that the selection process would be transparent. The commission will only have two or three former prosecutors as members, while the remaining members will come from outside the AGO.

The establishment of the oversight commission is mandated by the Public Prosecution Service Law, and is intended to support the establishment of a clean, transparent and professional AGO. As things stand, many prosecutors are widely believed to be deeply involved in corruption. -- JP