Law enforcement just lip service

Law enforcement just lip service

From Rakyat Merdeka

The law and the judiciary are entering a new era, following the lengthy mechanism for the election of the Supreme Court chief and the assassination of Senior Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, the mastermind of which has yet to be found. But now the Supreme Court has again been responsible for a new, dramatic episode by issuing a controversial ruling on the judicial review of a land swap case involving the State Logistics Agency and Goro Batarasakti.

No one would have been entitled to object to this ruling if the timing and other relevant matters had been both transparent and logical. It is regrettable that the ruling was made with Tommy Soeharto still at large as a fugitive. Inevitably, the 18- month prison sentence passed on him will ultimately prove to have been useless.

This case has simply reinforced for us the unpalatable impression that the Cendana family seems to be legally untouchable. Or, perhaps, the morality of law practitioners in this country has been thoroughly degraded.

Law enforcement is only lip service. Don't blame the people if they take the law into their own hands.

As for judges, they must speak out for the sake of the law and for justice, based only on admissible evidence and their conscience. Even though blindfolded, judges must "see" with their conscience.

Or, perhaps, judges should first watch Indian films, whose main theme is always law enforcement.

DIDIN SHOLEHUDDIEN

Jakarta