Anti-subversion law needs to be amended: Singgih
Anti-subversion law needs to be amended: Singgih
JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Singgih said the 1963 anti- subversion law needs amendment because "its formulation is too general and its reach too vast" for today's developments.
Singgih said on Saturday that the anti-subversion law is so broad that it covers a host of actions not related to underground activities aimed at undermining the state ideology or toppling the government.
The law covers gambling, smuggling, the stockpiling fertilizer to make farmers anxious and "harassing state apparatus".
Singgih pointed out, however, that since the Attorney General Office has been very selective in using the law since 1990. In 1993, for instance, the office only used the law in four cases, including one involving a university lecturer accused of campaigning against state ideology Pancasila.
The law has not been used against gamblers or protesters since 1990, Singgih said. "It wasn't even used to prosecute (Fretilin leader) Xanana Gusmao, despite the fact that the authorities could have done so," he said.
Singgih, in a year-end evaluation and forecast of his 1996 programs for Antara, outlined the need for a legal review of a number of laws.
Critics have frequently charged that the anti-subversion law has been too readily applied, and called for its abolition.
Singgih disagreed with the request. He said every country needs a set of laws to protect national unity.
He cited Malaysia's and Singapore's Internal Security Acts as examples.
The law on subversive activities is needed because the Criminal Code is inapplicable for people campaigning to undermine the state ideology, he said.
Singgih's statement on the anti-subversion law reinforced a recent legal review plan. In October, Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman said the law can no longer keep up with the sophisticated techniques employed by criminals.
The National Commission on Human Rights is the strongest supporter of the review plan. Along with a number of non- governmental organizations, the commission is currently conducting an inventory of laws which contradict human rights.
The commission's secretary-general, Baharuddin Lopa, said recently that it had made a list of priority laws to be reviewed, and that the anti-subversion law is at the top of the list.
Singgih also said on Friday that President Soeharto has instructed him to socialize the anti-corruption and collusion culture of the government apparatus and the public.
Singgih said Soeharto gave him the instruction to follow up results of an inter-departmental coordination meeting on the state budget and development fund, which was held last October.
"It is a necessity for the government to socialize the anti- corruption and collusion culture in all layers of society to show its political will to prevent any leakage in, and misuse of, the state budget," he said.
The attorney general disclosed that his office handled 350 corruption cases in 1995, causing Rp 255 billion (US111,597,374) in material losses to the state.
He said it was difficult to add up the losses because, besides unknown cases, most corruption is revealed years after it occurred.
"It can happen that corruption was committed in 1994 but revealed in 1995," he said.
He added cases in 1994, including the big Golden Key Group case, caused more than Rp 1 trillion ($437 million) in material losses to the state.
Singgih said his office would continue to process the cases the Government Audit Agency ferrets out of all government departments, state agencies and state-owned companies. (rms/swe)