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