Experts urge Habibie to discharge Ghalib
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie has been under mounting pressure to replace Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib from office to help speed up investigations into the latter's alleged ill- gotten wealth.
The pressure came from prominent law professors Loebby Loqman of the University of Indonesia in Jakarta and Satjipto Raharjo of the Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java, as well as the Association of Muslim Students (HMI) and the Yogyakarta Law Society.
They all expressed concern that 53-year-old Ghalib, who was supposed to be a law enforcer, was now the subject himself of an investigation. They said the investigation could be completed thoroughly only if Ghalib left office.
"Investigation into the attorney general, who is suspected of having committed crimes, remains in the job of the attorney general's office. Therefore, the President should immediately replace Ghalib with a new official who can proceed with the investigation," Loebby told Kompas daily.
Loebby said if Ghalib was found not guilty of the alleged crimes, his name could be later rehabilitated.
The professor also noted how vulnerable the country's preeminent legal bodies were. He said they were easily influenced by decisions made by their executives which reflected inconsistencies in law enforcement practices.
On Friday, the government announced that an independent accounting firm would be appointed to audit Ghalib's wealth. It said its findings would be made public one week later.
"The decision to audit Ghalib's wealth using a public accountant is not following procedures of the criminal investigation system.
"...in criminal investigation procedures, the audit is part of the duty of the investigators, in this case, the attorney general's office," Loebby said.
However, Satjipto told The Jakarta Post late Saturday that Habibie was trapped in a difficult position, as a bigger power was believed to be behind the scenes in the disclosure of Ghalib's personal bank accounts.
"It should be acknowledged that Habibie faces a difficult situation to make a decision whether he should dismiss Ghalib or not," he said.
As attorney general, Ghalib was supposed to lead the country's criminal investigations and prosecutions -- an honorable position which should be upheld by a person with a good image, Satjipto said.
"...but from time to time, Ghalib is bothered by many problems, ranging from the phone tapping, the slow probe on Soeharto's wealth and his disclosed bank accounts."
Meanwhile, the Yogyakarta Law Society said if Habibie appointed a new official to replace Ghalib, the man should not be from the military.
"The man should have integrity and absolute credibility," the group said in a statement made available to the Post.
The group also called on fellow lawyers to stay true to their profession, remain balanced in representing their clients and not hide truths just for the sake of their clients.
"It's for the country's sake, so don't give any impression that lawyers, representing people involved in collusion, corruption and nepotism (KKN) practices, use double standards," the group said.
Ghalib's cases, including the recent scandalous transfers made by two prominent businessmen Prajogo Pangestu and The Nin King -- whose alleged financial misdeeds were being investigated at Ghalib's office -- would gradually wipe out public trust and the goodwill of Habibie's government to finish the probe on former president Soeharto's alleged illegal wealth, the Association of Muslim Students (HMI) said.
"Public and student pessimism toward the investigation into Soeharto and his cronies, eradication of KKN, and the end of human rights violations are proven if Ghalib himself is in fact involved in a KKN case," HMI's chairman Musroi said in a statement.
The association, therefore, urged Habibie to replace Ghalib for the sake of the country's legal supremacy. The group called on the Indonesian Corruption Watch and any student movements to be consistent in demanding a trial for Soeharto and the eradication of KKN practices.(emf/har)