Komnas HAM assures correct screening process in place

Komnas HAM assures correct screening process in place

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) assured
on Monday that procedures used in the second phase of screening
20 additional members were in compliance with regulations,
despite complaints from several candidates whose names were made
public without prior notification of their nomination.

B.N. Marbun, head of the screening team and a commission
member, said that there was no need to ask the candidates about
their willingness to be included in the screening or to take an
internal fit and proper test, as long as they attended the test
held on Oct. 17 and 18.

"There is no problem whether the candidate applies for the
candidacy by themselves or are nominated by several social
groups. We can still accept a candidate whose application goes
beyond the deadline, moreover, if he or she is supported by a
commission member," he told reporters.

The first screening, held by a joint team with other rights
activists and legal experts, had named 14 new members of the
commission last July.

However, in compliance with Law No. 39/1999 on the commission,
Komnas HAM needs 20 additional members and a secretary-general,
who must be a civil servant, to meet the required 35 members.

At least two candidates -- women's activist and artist Ratna
Sarumpaet and lawyer Bachtiar Effendi -- complained earlier
because they were never contacted before their names were
announced in the media among 55 new candidates for the second
round of screening.

They were reportedly only asked if they were prepared to
appear four days before the fit and proper test was held at the
Komnas HAM office.

Later, the team also included 12 candidates who had been
declared to have failed the first screening tests, without giving
any reason for their inclusion.

Therefore, many people questioned the procedures of the
current team for including the names of people who were believed
to have failed to uphold human rights.

Separately, Komnas HAM chairman Djoko Soegianto brushed aside
criticism that the second screening was not as transparent as the
first screening held by another team last July. Doubt was only
caused by the lack of information on where the 67 candidates for
the second screening came from, he said.