Court dismisses Megawati's appeal
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Administrative Court rejected yesterday Megawati Soekarnoputri's appeal for an annulment of a government order for police questioning over an illegal meeting at her house.
Presiding judge Sudarto Radyosuwarno said the ruling handed down by the administrative court's chief, Sintong Oloan Siahaan, had been "appropriate".
In April, Siahaan dismissed Megawati's lawsuit against President Soeharto, Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, Attorney General Singgih and the South Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Sisno Adiwinoto because it was not in the court's jurisdiction.
Megawati, the ousted chief of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), had demanded that the court annul orders issued by Moerdiono and Singgih for police to question her and her husband, Taufiq Kiemas, as witnesses in the investigation of Haryanto Taslam, the PDI deputy secretary-general, for allegedly organizing a political meeting at her house in South Jakarta.
Her lawyers said that, because Megawati and Taufiq were members of the House of Representatives, police could not investigate them without written presidential approval.
Sudarto said the court could not hear the case because a presidential approval for Moerdiono's and Singgih's order for the police summons were "not administrative decisions".
He said a presidential approval was issued according to penal law. "Based on the 1986 law, a presidential approval is not an administrative decision therefore it is not the court's jurisdiction."
Article 2, point D, of the 1986 law stipulates: "Not included in the administrative decision according to this law:... Any decision issued based on the Criminal Code or the Criminal Code Procedure or other penal laws."
Based on this law, Sudarto said Moerdiono's order to Singgih, and Singgih's order to police were not administrative matters.
He said that Singgih's order and the police summons had been made according to their duty under the scope of criminal law and were therefore not an administrative matter. (05)