Judge Benjamin gives 'Tempo' ray of hope

Judge Benjamin gives 'Tempo' ray of hope

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): Judge Benjamin Mangkoedilaga, whose verdict on
the Tempo case became a landmark in the judiciary, has an advice
for the weekly's diehard journalists: "Don't ever lose your
hope."

"You may lose everything, including the publishing license,
but don't ever lose your hope for good things," Benjamin said.

Benjamin, head of the Jakarta State Administrative Court, and
associate judges Sumaryono and Tengku Abdul Rahman Husni,
recently ruled in favor of Tempo's former chief editor Goenawan
Mohamad and its 40 former staff members. On May 3, the judge
stated that the government's decision to revoke Tempo's
publishing license was unlawful, and ordered the defendant,
Minister of Information Harmoko, to issue a new license for the
weekly.

The decision, however, is not final as Harmoko has stated he
will appeal to the High State Administrative Court in Jakarta.

"If the high court grants the minister's appeal, I will
respect the decision, even though I disagree with it," Benjamin
said.

"As for the plaintiffs, they will have a chance to appeal to
the Supreme Court," he said.

Benjamin acknowledges that there will not be any guarantee
that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of Tempo's former
editor and staff members.

"Everything is unpredictable. Everything is possible," he said
in an interview with The Jakarta Post early this week.

Benjamin called upon both the plaintiffs and the defendant to
respect the final decision.

Even if Tempo loses, the journalists shouldn't lose their hope
for good things, Benjamin asserted again.

Tempo's former journalists and employees have been split into
two groups. Some of them took the offer of timber tycoon Bob
Hasan to establish a new magazine called Gatra, but some others
insisted on having their own, independent magazine.

Criticism

Tempo was banned on June 21, 1994, for its editorial content.
Two other news weeklies, Editor and DeTik, were closed at the
same time. The multiple bannings shocked and upset the public,
drawing severe criticism from both inside and outside the
country.

Unlike Editor and DeTik, which did not take the case to court,
Tempo filed five separate lawsuits against the government.

The recent favorable court decision was beyond public
expectation. Many people, including the weekly's former editor
Goenawan Mohamad, had expressed skepticism about the possibility
that Tempo would win. There have been many reports about the mess
of Indonesia's legal system, such as the government's
interference in judiciary, which has eroded public trust of the
courts.

Just like the June 1994 bannings, the recent verdict also drew
attention here and abroad. Benjamin made headlines and was
showered with praise.

"I was thankful and happy," he said.

Appreciation is worth more than material things, he added.

Aware that his decision had brought great pleasure and
amazement to the public, Benjamin called upon the people to be
calm.

"Remember what President Soeharto said about not being easily
surprised and astonished," he said.

He referred to Soeharto's words: aja dumeh, aja gumunan, aja
kagetan (don't be smug, don't be easily astonished and don't be
easily shocked or surprised).

The public applause to his decision didn't change Benjamin.

"I am just a common man. I am not a star," he stressed.

Benjamin's verdict on Tempo's case was not the first
controversial decision he has made. In 1986, as a Bandung
District Court judge, he sentenced a woman to death for killing
her husband.

In April this year, he also ruled against the Minister of
Trade who had revoked the business licenses of five future
trading companies.

But Benjamin has not always sided with the people.

He turned down the suit filed by Cimacan, West Java, farmers
who claimed that their land was seized to make way for the
opening of a golf course. The farmers lost because they could not
produce a document to prove their ownership on the land. Benjamin
made the decision in 1989 when he was the head of the Cianjur
District Court.

Benjamin denied the accusations by some people who say that
there is no legal certainty in Indonesia. Instead, he showed
understanding about criticism over the lack of justice in the
country.

He is aware that there are some judges who step out of the
line, saying that people will make mistakes.

"A judge should have the character of a judge," he said.

He implied that a judge isn't a businessman who trades law to
make profit.

He said judges don't make a lot of money, but he believes that
there must be a way to cope with the financial problem.

"I have just got an offer to teach at a prestigious university
in town," he said.

Benjamin is obviously against bribery in the handling of court
cases, but early reports said he doesn't mind receiving gifts
from people who win court cases he has presided over.

The judge, however, refused to discuss the reports.

"Don't ask me such things," he said.

He said that a judge should be wise, persistent and tough.

A judge should be tough because not all people will like the
judgments he or she makes.

"The winner will hail the decision, but the loser will roar,"
he said.

He knows there are people who didn't like his decision in the
Tempo's case, but that doesn't worry him because he believes he
did the right thing.

He said there was nothing special about the case.

"It was just a common case. Our duty (in the administrative
court) is to examine administrative decisions made by the
government," he said.

It was not a matter of having the courage to rule against the
government, according to the judge. The decision should be based
on what the judges believe to be true.

"People do not have to lose all the time," he said.

Benjamin said that he had never experienced any pressure from
the government in connection with the Tempo's case.

He said he was not afraid that the decision might affect his
career as a judge.

"What is my mistake?" he asked.

A graduate of the University of Indonesia's School of Law in
1967 and also the first leader of the university's marching band,
Benjamin said he became a judge "by accident". He said he had to
abandon his dream to become a naval officer or a locomotive
engineer as he could not resist his father's insistence that he
study law.

His first job as a judge was in the Rangkasbitung District
Court, West Java, where he was on duty for seven years. In 1974
he was transferred to the Denpasar District Court.

He spent four years studying state administrative courts in
Paris, from 1977 to 1979, and from 1984 to 1985.

He had been a North Jakarta District Court judge and chief of
the Cianjur District Court in West Java before the government
appointed him head of the Surabaya State Administrative Court in
1991.

On May 18, 1993, he was assigned to Jakarta State
Administrative Court.

"I still have a long way to go. I have to be careful in
building my career," the 58-year-old Benjamin said.

He said he thanked God for his position as head of the Jakarta
State Administrative Court, which is "prestigious" and
"strategic". But he hopes he still has a chance to go higher with
his career.

"All army members want to become chief of staff. All judges
want to become a chief justice," he said with a laugh.

He quoted first president Sukarno as saying Hang jauw idealen
aan de sterren, als ze daan niet hangen, uallen ze neer (hang
your ideal on a star, otherwise it will fall down).

Asked if he admired Sukarno, he said he admired all people who
were accomplished in their fields, including artist W.S. Rendra,
tennis player Yayuk Basuki, shuttler Susi Susanti and singer Nike
Ardilla, who died earlier this year in a road mishap at the age
of 19.