Judges mega-wealthy despite low pay
Judges mega-wealthy despite low pay
Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta
The majority of the 14 Supreme Court justice candidates who passed the screening process by the House of Representatives have amassed substantial personal wealth despite their relatively meager official salaries.
According to documents obtained by The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, Judge Andar Purba is the wealthiest candidate with total assets of Rp 3.3 billion, while Judge Imam Harjadi comes in at the bottom of the list with personal assets of Rp 165.5 million.
Assets include bank savings, both in rupiah and dollars, land, houses and cars.
The candidates are all career judges who have sat on the bench for between 30 and 40 years. Only in the past several years have these judges seen their salaries rise substantially, to as high as Rp 98.1 million per year.
Judge Abbas Said, for example, has earned a basic salary of Rp 3.74 million per month, or Rp 44.4 million a year, since October 2003. However, in a document he submitted to the House of Representatives, he claimed Rp 550 million in assets.
Andar Purba, born in Kabanjahe, North Sumatra, on Dec. 19, 1942, owns seven plots of land and houses in North Sumatra and Jakarta totaling 11,696 square meters in size and valued at Rp 2.008 billion.
In comparison, a soccer field has a maximum size of 10,000 square meters.
Andar also owns two sedans -- 1994 Honda for himself and a 1998 BMW for his wife. He explained his assets by saying he was very good at saving money from his salary as a judge.
Djoko Sarwoko, born in Boyolali, Central Java, on Dec. 24, 1942, has four plots of land and houses in Jakarta, Batam and Surabaya totaling 1,831 square meters and valued at Rp 603 million.
He has owns three vehicles -- a 1995 Toyota Corona, a 1996 Kijang and a 1993 Suzuki Starlet.
Harifin Tumpa, born in Soppeng, South Sulawesi, on Feb. 23, 1942, claimed total assets of Rp 940 million, including a 312- square-meter plot of land and house in Jakarta, Rp 113 million in a savings account and a car.
The deputy chairman of House Commission II for home and legal affairs, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, said the value of the assets claimed by the justice candidates varied, but the only issue of concern was the source of the assets.
"Those assets are the candidates' personal fortunes. If they earned the assets legally, then we cannot just continue questioning them," Ferry told the Post.
Legal experts have said the screening process for the candidates lacked transparency.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri is expected to approve all 14 candidates as new Supreme Court justices.
--------------------------------------------------------- No. Name Age Court Assets(Rp) --------------------------------------------------------- 1. Andar Purba 63 Supreme Court 2.88 b + $45,000
2. Djoko Sarwoko 62 Semarang High 1.008 b + $1,500
Court 3. Muhammad Taufik 61 Palembang High Court 1.32 b
4. Harifin A. Tumpa 62 Jakarta High Court 940.6 m
5. Susanti Adi N 63 Supreme Court 908 m
6. Moegihardjo 62 Supreme Court 551 m
7. Abbas Said 61 Pekanbaru High Court 550 m
8. Atja Sondjaja 62 Pontianak High 241 m + $28,000
Court 9. Imam Soebechi 58 Supreme Court 510.7 m
10.I Made Tara 61 Denpasar High Court 495 m
11.Marina Sidabutar 61 Medan Administrative 200 m + five
Court houses
12.Gunanto Suryono 62 Supreme Court 204 m + $1,200
13.Bahaudin Qaudry 63 Padang High Court 175 m
14.R. Imam Harjadi 62 Tanjung Karang 165.5 m
High Court ---------------------------------------------------------