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