Grasp opportunity to recreate RI's legal system: Scholar

Legal reform has proven to be one of the toughest objectives for the new government. A long-time expert on Indonesia, Daniel S. Lev, political science professor at Washington University in Seattle, shares his views.

Question: How do you see the changes here?

Answer: Not surprisingly, conditions are very difficult. Difficult to change and improve. One shouldn't be surprised given the last 40 years in Indonesia. Major institutions in the government need to be repaired, reformed, remade.

With the partial exception of the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM), every single institution in the government needs assessment. People don't trust the bureaucracy, including the court system.

Now, the new government, under President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), has an enormous task ... Unlike many other countries that have difficulties, here you can't really fix the economy until you've reformed the political system in the government.

It is much more difficult than in Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand. Their economies are beginning to improve rapidly.

Indonesia has to think about improving its legal system; rebuilding and restoring trust in the political system.

There are now several political parties; they need to develop genuine programs for the economy. Nothing has been done yet.

Why legal and political systems?

The biggest problem is improving the legal system. There's pressure within and outside the country to streamline the courts, the Attorney General's Office, the police, etc. Enormous. No one can expect this to happen overnight.

There are many foreign organizations, World Bank, IMF, USAID (from the United States) AUSAID (from Australia) and many others involved and somehow trying to help. But the fact is, that kind of help is very little because reforming an entire legal system is also a political problem.

It has to be done locally. Many of the foreign countries involved which are trying to help Indonesia obviously have their own interests.

To improve and to remake the political system, one actually needs a lot of influence with the political elite within the House of Representatives. However, they have their own problems.

Improving the legal system may in some ways actually improve the political system.

This, naturally, requires strategies and a lot of imagination and willingness ...

From one point of view, there's an opportunity for Indonesia to create a real legal system for the first time since the advent of colonialism.

There was, briefly, a working legal system in the 1950's that many people forget, with a strong Attorney General.

In 1957, it began to collapse largely because the army became increasingly involved in politics and because of the turmoil in Indonesia caused by the Cold War.

Now there's some advantages in Indonesia (regarding) legal reform; the social protests from people who are skeptical and angry, etc.

And for the first time in 40 years, political leaders are now actually afraid of popular opinion.

Professionals can be very helpful, but the real middle-class professionals in Indonesia stay away from politics. They simply want to remain in their offices.

What should be done?

Political strategy is very important. Akbar Tandjung (House Speaker), Amien Rais (Chief of the People's Consultative Assembly) and Gus Dur need to meet often.

As professional politicians they have to learn to work together.

It's also important for the court system to be overhauled by starting to reduce the size of the Supreme Court, in terms of the number of judges.

This should be followed by doing the same to the court system and the bureaucracy.

At the same time, it seems to me, it's necessary to rely on professional lawyers who are very capable and independent. Increasingly, they should be reliable, too.

We need judges who may not be "superior lawyers" but "institutional lawyers" like judge M.A.A. Kusumaatmadja who was the first (prosecutor) in 1951.

The Supreme Court now needs people like that.

One of the most important steps in improving the legal system, which I have agreed to for a long time, is having lawyers join together in one single organization in order to bring daily pressure on the government to improve the legal courts, Supreme Court and police.

But this doesn't exist.

There are several organizations, but none are very strong. Many lawyers don't like the idea of unification. But if you begin to consolidate, this will be a major step for legal reform. I think it's one of the most important things to be done (while) foreign aid can be very helpful in improving libraries at law schools and subsidizing law professors who want to do research. Somebody has to pay attention to our law schools.

Some say that nothing has really changed in the legal system since Soeharto left the presidency.

No. Something has happened. Legal reform is part of the political problem. The Commission of National Law has been set up, though it works very slowly.

There's also an attempt by Mardjono Reksohadiputro to create a diagnostic study of the legal system along. I think it's beginning to move towards something now. I think Gus Dur is going to put pressure on also.

Some private lawyers are beginning to get together to talk. There's also a draft from the Ministry of Law and Legislation. It's very slow, but that's something. It's a little bit dreamy, but I wish the major newspapers in Indonesia could make a commitment to publish serious articles, twice a week if necessary, analyzing the legal system. I think this will put pressure on the President, because I think the government is very sensitive.

Does the public think that the government is serious in wanting to reform the legal system?

I think the public thinks the government is serious. But many people are very unhappy (about the legal system) and want something to happen, but they don't see it gestating.

The primary concern is about the economy, but they want (the legal system) reformed too. It's important to assure people that something is happening. There's got to be some evidence, because the longer the situation does not exist, the more skeptical and cynical and angry people will become.

Are student demonstrations one indication of this feeling?

Indeed. Student pressure is very important. The (unsettled case of) Soeharto is one of the important issues (in this regard). I understand why the students are doing it. There's a revenge factor, relating to the law. Sometimes one has to make a rather sophisticated political decision ...

So it's more important to reorganize public prosecution and this creates a very difficult problem for (Attorney General) Marzuki Darusman. But it creates the most logical problem for the public because the Attorney General's Office also needs reform.

What about the police?

I agree with the need to decentralize the police. Police decentralization, which was suggested by Satjipto Rahardjo of the University of Diponegoro (in Semarang) is a good idea.

Under provincial governments, (the police) will be much easier to control and reform. There's so much bureaucracy.

While there's so much to be done, the public is running out of patience.

They have the right now to be impatient. They've suffered for a long time under corrupt judges, corrupt police and a corrupt bureaucracy. This is not simply corruption but incompetence.

Everybody knows about the level of corruption in Indonesia. Foreign countries and the Indonesian elite make a lot of money here.

The wages increase but poverty is not reduced. One begins to realize that sometimes slower is better. Because once the economy grows, you have to make constant adjustments; political and economic adjustments. You have to begin fashioning bureaucratic regulations.

What do you think about Gus Dur's competence?

He's remarkable in many ways. He makes mistakes, but who doesn't? People expect too much from him. (There are) no proper institutions to carry out his ideas.

Many people, particularly the middle class, complain about the political parties, but they don't want to join the political parties.

Professionals complain about the government, but they aren't willing to work with the government.

What do you think about the idea to appoint a First Minister?

It's not bad. A First Minister can coordinate the Cabinet. I don't know what decision will be made about that. Gus Dur reportedly said that the Supreme Advisory Council should continue (drawing up the concept). But I suspect he didn't do so. He has to decide whether he wants that. If a First Minister will be helpful, it's not a bad idea. The function, however, must be defined.

What have you heard regarding the conspiracy to topple Gus Dur?

There are thousands of rumors. Everybody talks about conspiracy ... it's just wasting time.

How do you view the spreading violence?

People don't trust the police. This is about desperation, combined with anger. Again, this is about prosecution, judges and bureaucrats. People spend a lot of time talking about democracy, every week there's a seminar ....

The bureaucracy, the courts and police are not democratic ...

Your comments on the PT Texmaco case, the alleged loan scandal involving Rp 9.6 trillion which was dropped by the Attorney General?

Marzuki Darusman has to explain what's going on. Given the history of this kind of problem in Indonesia, if you stop the investigation people will believe that corruption is involved.

The President and various lawyers have to make everything transparent so the people will understand what exactly is going on.

What other improvements should be made in the judiciary?

It would be good to set up more than one Supreme Court. For instance in Germany, there are several separate courts: regular courts, social security courts, labor courts and commercial courts.

So there is specialization with each court. Indonesia has several courts also: the regular, the Islamic and commercial courts in addition to the military court. But there's only one Supreme Court.

To strengthen it, ask a prominent private lawyer to serve for three or five years. This will invariably make it a stronger institution. (I. Christianto)