Demand for probe in bribery scandal gains momentum

Demand for probe in bribery scandal gains momentum

JAKARTA (JP): Adi Andojo Soetjipto, the senior judge who
alleged that bribery is rampant in the Supreme Court, and has
called for an investigation, is gaining more and more support
from various institutions and individuals.

Sudomo, a close aide of President Soeharto's, and scholars at
Central Java universities are among those calling for a speedy
resolution to the bribery scandal at the Supreme Court. Other
calls have also been made by the Association of Islamic Students.

"We must not let this scandal go unresolved," legal observer
Satjipto Rahardjo of Diponegoro University told The Jakarta Post
in Semarang yesterday.

"We have to support anybody who is willing to take risks to
save the Supreme Court from such scandals," Satjipto, who is also
a member of the National Commission on Human Rights, said.

The effort to uncover this scandal should try not to tarnish
the Supreme Court's reputation, he added. "All related parties
should sit together and discuss solutions so that the good name
of the Supreme Court can be restored."

Sudomo, chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council, said
separately yesterday that the Supreme Court itself should solve
the scandal, without inviting in other bodies to help.

He pointed out that the President, the House of
Representatives, the Supreme Audit Agency and the Supreme
Advisory Council are all institutions which are technically of
equal level. None of them can intervene in another's internal
affairs, he said.

President Soeharto said on Wednesday that the Supreme Court
should be able to resolve the matter itself. This statement was
made following public discussion as to who has the authority to
investigate the Rp 1.4 billion (US$600,000) bribe allegedly paid
to the Supreme Court judge Samsoedin Aboebakar.

A legal observer, for instance, has called on Adi Andojo to
seek the support of the office of Vice President Try Sutrisno who
is in charge of the supervision of state agencies' operation.
Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman said earlier this week the
Supreme Court could ask the President or Vice President for
"guidance".

The executive board of the Association of Islamic Students
called for a complete resolution of the alleged collusion case,
saying that this is crucial to the people's trust in the
Indonesian judicial system.

"If the allegations turn out to be true, then the senior
judges involved in this case should be punished accordingly," the
students said in a statement.

Political observer Riswandha Imawan of Gadjah Mada University
has blamed the political system for the rampant corruption among
officials.

"There's no delegation of power here, and this creates a thick
layer of bureaucracy which tends to corrupt," he said.

The alleged collusion made headlines in newspapers after a
recent edition of the Forum Keadilan magazine printed a secret
letter from Adi to the Central Jakarta Prosecutors' Office.

Adi asked the office to review the Supreme Court's decision,
which acquitted the Indian school principal Ram Gulumal of
charges of unlawful land procurement for the construction of the
Indian Gandhi Memorial International School in Ancol, North
Jakarta.

The magazine reported that Gulumal's acquittal sparked
controversy among senior judges because there were indications
that the judge presiding over the case had received a bribe of Rp
1.4 billion to secure the acquittal of the defendant.(har/imn)