Grasp opportunity to recreate RI's legal system: Scholar

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)