Concern over Rachman's case

Concern over Rachman's case

From Republika

Observing the recent news on Attorney General MA Rachman in both print and the electronic media with regard to the acts of the Public Servants' Wealth Audit Agency (KPKPN), we would like to express our concerns as follows:

1. KPKPN was established to provide the institution with the authority to examine the wealth of public servants.

2. The findings of KPKPN should be addressed to the president and passed to the police, and if it is found that there are indications of involvement in corruption, KPKPN shall not propagate its findings in the media.

In the case of probing the assets of Indonesia's Attorney General, MA Rachman, KPKPN should have reported its findings to the police as an institution authorized to investigate and to the president as the superior of the Attorney General if investigations suggest that the wealth is obtained through corruption.

We deeply regret the acts of KPKPN that has disseminated the findings through the media because by so doing KPKPN has neglected the principles of the presumption of innocence which are to be upheld in every legal process. And KPKPN has propagated a contempt of character against Indonesia's Attorney General. We also regret the statements made by some public officials which imply Rachman was involved in corruption.

Such opinions will greatly affect public views over the ongoing legal process, which will in turn result in a guilty verdict without trial. This serves as a bad example for the process of law enforcement for a country like Indonesia.

Learning from this case, we do hope the case will be settled based on legal mechanisms so that we can make a state based on law rather than power.

PRAMUDYA, Semarang