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)