Experts urge Habibie to discharge Ghalib

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)