Judiciary needs urgent overhaul

The Attorney General's Office has slowly and protractedly built cases against two prominent businessmen. Political analyst Jusuf Wanandi believes the cases are politically motivated.

JAKARTA (JP): The most needed reform in Indonesia is the restoration and strengthening of the rule of law. The next government, most probably under Megawati Soekarnoputri, must immediately act on this need. In fact, this reform corresponds to the platform of Megawati's party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

A complete overhaul of the judiciary system is called for. Equally urgent is the retooling of the Attorney General's Office. Under Soeharto and, to an even greater degree, Habibie, the office has become a political tool for the government in general, and the office of the president in particular.

This has become extremely obvious in the cases against businessmen Arifin Panigoro and Sofjan Wanandi, who are being harassed by the Attorney General's Office on charges which are fabricated.

Habibie suspects both men supported the student demonstrations last November. However, no matter how many accusations are leveled against them, there is not enough evidence to charge them on these grounds. Therefore their businesses have become the target of persecution.

In fact, what are at best civil cases have been turned into criminal cases, with the aim of putting political pressure on Arifin and Sofjan. Since the government could not build a case of tax evasion against the businessmen, they have, in the case of Sofjan, attempted to build a case around loans he, or companies he is linked with, received from state banks.

Arifin, meanwhile, is being questioned about promissory notes issued by his company.

The scanned telephone conversation which allegedly took place between Habibie and then attorney general Andi Ghalib at the end of last year revealed the persecution of Arifin and Sofjan was political. This also appears to be the reason, in addition to the advice of medical doctors, why Sofjan, despite the pressure placed on him, has decided to put off his return to Indonesia.

Although Arifin was eventually acquitted because his case was considered civil rather than criminal, the excessive harassment he had to go through served as a warning to Sofjan not to risk his health by being forced into this political adventure.

There can be no confidence in the judicial system today. The Habibie administration has an utter lack of credibility in its ability to deliver legal certainty and uphold the rule of law.

All the earlier promises about solving the case of the missing student activists, the killing of students, the raping of women and the ongoing violence in Aceh and East Timor, have not been seriously followed up. They are just empty promises and meaningless rhetoric.

There is no political will to solve these cases. Instead, energy is devoted to the kind of witch-hunts described above.

The mass media and public opinion have correctly described the current regime as a continuation of Soeharto's New Order, without Soeharto.

The situation has even deteriorated in relation to abuse and corruption. Therefore, without the vigilance of the media and public opinion, there will be no reform in the judiciary.

The overhaul of the judicial system will have to begin with legislation. Under Soeharto's authoritarian rule, the government was practically run by presidential decree. Some legislation was passed by the legislature, but the government regulations and presidential decrees used to implement it usually distorted the laws to serve the narrow interests of the government or the president.

Under Soeharto, there was not a single initiative by the legislature to produce new legislation. Indeed, one can correctly speak of a rule by the government, rather than a rule of law.

In a future democratic Indonesia, the House of Representatives will be vital because the rule of law has yet to be established. Appointing a figure the caliber of Amien Rais as speaker of the House would send an important signal to the public, both nationally and internationally, that the new Indonesia will have a government based on law.

This should come packaged with the overhaul of the judiciary, the retooling of the Attorney General's Office and the restoration of the police's authority. Short of this, the Indonesian government will not be taken seriously by the public.

In the final analysis, these reforms will only take root if our leaders have sufficient political will, and the corruption of the bureaucracy, including the judiciary, is ended.

Reformist leaders such as Megawati Soekarnoputri, Gus Dur and Amien Rais are incorruptible and have the political will to make the necessary changes. However, they will need people as committed to the rule of law to head the agencies and institutions which safeguard and implement the law.

Figures such as Todung Mulya Lubis, Benjamin Mangkudilaga and Marzuki Darusman come to mind. They are committed to this cause and have the public's trust.

It should not be overlooked that together with these changes, there is a need to significantly improve the salaries of public servants, which will require the rationalization of the bureaucracy.

This is the time for Indonesia to establish a clean and effective government and the mechanisms for the implementation of the rule of law. A legitimate government built on a coalition of reformist parties, PDI Perjuangan, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN), would have the authority to put these reforms in place. This opportunity should not be missed.