Bar Association gears up to elect new chairman

Bar Association gears up to elect new chairman

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Bar Association, a vocal
organization which has often defied the government, is opening
its congress here this morning to elect its leaders.

Still fresh in the minds of many participants is the fistfight
and commotion at the last congress in Jakarta five years ago when
some of the lawyers resisted attempts by the government to have
its candidate elected to the prestigious organization.

Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman, who is scheduled to open
the three-day congress at the Ambarukmo Hotel, has already
stirred controversy when he said last week that the government
would prefer to see someone younger at the helm of the
association.

Oetojo said that the government is keeping its hands off the
congress.

So far, there are no visible signs that the government is
trying to influence the course of the meeting.

By yesterday, as delegates arrived for the congress, the three
front-runners for the chairmanship election were men of strong
integrity who, if voted in, are expected to continue the
association's tradition of rejecting any attempt by the
government to exert influence over it.

The three favorites are the incumbent Harjono Tjitrosoebono,
who will be seeking a third five-year term, Maruli Simorangkir
and Todung Mulya Lubis.

If the association follows its statutes to the letter, Harjono
and Mulya should technically be counted out.

The rules state that a chairman can only serve one five-year
term. The association's congress in Jakarta in 1990 bent the rule
to have Harjono re-elected simply to beat the government's
candidate.

Another rule requires that a candidate must have served in an
executive position within the association. This, some association
members argue, rules Mulya out.

Maruli, who also chairs the congress' steering committee,
acknowledged that some delegates will insist on changing the
statutes to pave the way for the election of their candidates.

"There will be a session discussing the statutes," he added.

He noted that the congress has been divided into two camps on
the question of the chairmanship.

One camp, of mostly senior lawyers, supports Harjono's re-
election. Another group, consisting of young lawyers, is calling
for a rejuvenation of the association's leadership, he added.

While most members agreed that Harjono has succeeded in
maintaining the association's independence, many feel that he has
done little for the advancement of the profession.

"Harjono succeeded in uniting the association's personnel and
maintaining its existence and independence, but no more than
that," Rusdi Nurima, a deputy chairman, said.

Amir Syamsuddin, a delegate from East Jakarta, said it was
ironic that lawyers in the association are in the habit of
disobeying their own rules.

The statute on limitation was introduced to prevent ambitious
individuals from taking control of the association.

The association was established in November 1985 as a merger
of 17 lawyers organizations in compliance with a law requiring a
single organization for every profession.

The honeymoon did not last long.

In 1987, a group of young lawyers who were disgruntled over
being denied membership of the association because of its strict
recruitment criteria, established the Indonesian Lawyers
Association in 1987.

In 1990, another group of disgruntled lawyers quit the Bar
Association and formed the Indonesian Advocates Association, with
the blessing of the government. (02/imn)