Gus Dur calls for proof of innocence in graft case trials
Gus Dur calls for proof of innocence in graft case trials
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid, in an effort to
fight the rampant practice of corruption, called on Wednesday for
the shift of the burden of proof system, which will require
defendants to prove that they are not guilty.
"The government is considering selectively implementing the
reverse system for corruption and narcotics cases," the President
said in the introduction of his reply to the House of
Representatives' first memorandum of censure in a House plenary
session on Wednesday.
Under the new procedure, the accused must prove that they
acquired money or other assets legally.
Currently, it is the prosecutors who have to prove that the
defendant is guilty.
The President said the government was considering drafting a
bill on the reverse procedure against corruption because
prosecutors regularly experience technical and legal difficulties
in providing evidence in corruption cases.
"I call on the House of Representatives to make it into a law
as soon as possible," Wahid said.
He said he has ordered the Cabinet secretary to prepare
necessary regulations on the reverse system while the bill has
yet to be passed into law.
Bachtiar Chamsyah, former chairman of the House's already-
dissolved special committee that investigated the Bulog and
Brunei scams, hailed the President's call.
"We should appreciate the President's statement but he should
first set a good example by providing evidence that he is not
involved in the two financial scandals," he said.
He added that in his speech read by Minister of Justice and
Human Rights Baharuddin Lopa, the President failed to prove he
was not guilty in the two cases.
He also said the government could issue a regulation in lieu
of a law on the new reverse system because making a law will take
a long time.
Attorney General Marzuki Darusman supported the idea to shift
the burden of proof in order to combat corruption more
effectively.
"We will learn about the possible enforcement of the reverse
procedure in the investigation of corruption cases in the
future," he said after a hearing with the House's Commission II
for home and legal affairs on Wednesday.
Adi Andojo Soetjipto, former chief of the Joint Anti-
Corruption Team (TGPTK), concurred but regretted that members of
the political elite are not fully committed to staging an all out
battle against corruption.
"The absence of strong commitment is seen in the government's
dissatisfying response to the joint team's proposal to declare a
state of emergency due to the rampant practice of corruption," he
told The Jakarta Post by phone.
He said both the government and the House were not committed
to fight against corruption, which it still prevalent among state
officials.
"That is why I recently quit the joint team," said the former
supreme court justice, who has long suggested the implementation
of the reverse system to shift the burden of proof.
He said that the system is partly stipulated in the 1999 law
on anti-corruption, but it has yet to be enforced because of the
absence of serious commitment among law enforcers and members of
the political elite. (rms)