Candidate judge denies being gambler

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta

Candidate for Supreme Court justice, Hakim Simanjuntak, said on Tuesday that he never gambled but admitted that he often played dominoes with his friends.

"I have never gambled, I only play dominoes with my colleagues," Hakim told members of the House of Representatives (DPR) during a fit and proper test.

Hakim was answering a query by legislator Djasri Marin of the Indonesian Military/Police faction who wanted to confirm information that he (the candidate) was an avid gambler.

He did not provide detailed information and unfortunately legislators did not raise further questions.

Responding to the question whether there was bribery in the country's judicial offices, Hakim said confidently that the reform movement initiated in 1998 had ended such practices.

Hakim, deputy head of the Surabaya High Court, added that all judges had shown professionalism and none of them received gifts. "Justices carry out their duties honestly. They do not receive bribes," he said.

Hakim also vowed to improve the integrity of all judges and the office's management system.

He promised that he would build a judicial system that placed morality as its major reference.

Another candidate Harifin A. Tumpa, meanwhile, said that the performance of the justices would play an important role in maintaining the image of the Supreme Court.

"The justices will create a negative image of the Supreme Court if they issue unfair rulings," he added.

The main problem the Supreme Court is facing, according to Harifin, was the lack of independence of justices, which is highlighted by the rampant bribery and collusion.

"This situation is apparently due to weak supervision," said Harifin, head of the Jakarta High Court.

Some other high court justices also underwent screening at House Commission II for home and law affairs. They are A. Gatam Taridi (a judge at the Jakarta High Court), Bagus Sugiri (head of the Palu High Court), Djoko Sarwoko (head of the Semarang High Court), Gunanto Suryono (a clerk in the Supreme Court).

At the end of the hearing, each candidate was required to sign a document stating that all information given during the hearing was true.

Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, deputy chairman of House Commission II, said the judges should be prepared to resign if the information given during the hearing was false.

Responding to suggestions that each political party had hand- picked their own nominee, Ferry neither denied nor confirmed the allegations.

"Similar accusations were also raised during the selection of members for the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)," he said.

The legislators have been examining 44 justices vying for 14 seats in the Supreme Court. A total of 12 justices would be assigned to handle public courts and two others to handle the state administrative court.

Ferry emphasized that all candidates were told to reject any phone calls asking for a meeting in order to prevent extortion.