Judges receive raises

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid issued a decree on Wednesday increasing the salaries of judges.

The head of the Indonesian Judges Association (Ikahi), Toton Suprapto, said the basic salary of first-grade judges would increase from Rp 750,000 (US$68) a month to Rp 1.75 million. The basic salary of the highest grade judges would go from Rp 2,257,900 a month to Rp 3,407,000, Antara reported.

But a statement from the State Secretariat said the salary of first-grade judges would be increased to Rp 1.35 million a month.

Following a meeting with the President at the Bina Graha presidential office, Toton said the decree also raised the status of judges from civil servants to that of government officials.

But Toton said the decree did not stipulate an increase in the allowances for judges.

He said the highest allowance for judges was Rp 1 million a month. He compared this to state prosecutors, who could receive up to Rp 2.5 million a month.

"So we also asked the President to increase the allowance for judges, at least to the same level as that of prosecutors. The answer was that the budget is limited," Toton was quoted by Antara as saying.

Ikahi proposed an increase in the salaries of judges during its 13th national congress in Bandung last March. Also during the congress, Toton was elected as the new head of the association.

Toton also said the President would install Bagir Manan as the new chief justice of the Supreme Court next Friday.

Separately, Edwin Situmorang of the Joint Anti-Corruption Team said increasing the salaries of judges was not sufficient to improve the professionalism of judges.

"Improving their welfare and increasing their salaries is not enough ... what does Rp 1 million mean to judges nowadays. Judges need to have their integrity improved, not their welfare. It is about integrity, not welfare," Edwin told The Jakarta Post. (hdn/ylt)