ICW veers from its course

ICW veers from its course

From Pelita

As a layman, I used to have empathy and support for the
Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), particularly upon its
revelation of the alleged bribery of former attorney general Andi
M. Ghalib. Not surprisingly, this alleged bribery case has made
Teten Masduki, the coordinator of ICW, famous all over Indonesia
almost overnight. It is my hope that there will be other groups
that will follow in the footsteps of ICW so that there will many
new Tetens to uncover cases related to corruption, collusion and
nepotism now rampant in this country.

Unfortunately, I lost this empathy for ICW as soon as I heard
on the radio (at 7 p.m. on July 13) and read in Suara Pembaruan
evening newspaper (July 13) that ICW lawyers had asked Gen.
Wiranto to discharge the commander of the military police center.
Besides, the report in Suara Pembaruan also said that "If
minister of defense and security/commander of the Indonesian
Military (TNI) fails to meet this demand, it means the public has
analyzed it correctly that there is a conspiracy within the TNI
leadership to save nonactive attorney general A.M. Ghalib from
legal prosecution, said the coordinator of ICW's team of lawyers,
Iskandar Sonhaji."

I find it interesting to note that ICW seems to have veered
from its course as it has begun to intervene in other people's
internal affairs, in this case the internal affairs of the TNI. I
also wish to ask Mr. Iskandar Sonhaji whether it is right for ICW
to ask Wiranto to discharge the commander of the military police
center, Maj. Gen. Djasri. To me this request not only sounds
queer but also gives the impression that ICW has the right to
meddle in other people's internal affairs. And is it right for
ICW to allege that TNI leaders are conspiring to save A.M.
Ghalib?

As ICW is made up of people well versed in the law and legal
affairs, it should uphold politeness and exercise great care in
issuing statements. Never make a statement that gives the
impression that ICW is not only the most popular but also the
most powerful. ICW may continue striving to probe into the assets
of other officials, but it must always bear in mind that it is
not an institution overseeing Gen. Wiranto and therefore cannot
arrange things as it wishes.

KETUT ARYANTI

Jakarta