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)