Law enforcement prospects for 2005
Law enforcement prospects for 2005
Satya Arinanto
One of the most important issues expected to be resolved promptly by the new government under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla is law enforcement; it is an expectation based on a pledge the two made in their presidential campaign.
In a White Paper titled "The Vision, Mission and Programs", the pair presented their program for justice, law, human rights and democracy. In it, Susilo-Kalla declared that restructuring the judiciary and implementing policies to guarantee law enforcement and legal certainty was imperative.
The program includes plans to:
1. intensify efforts to eradicate corruption, collusion, nepotism and cronyism;
2. enhance the professionalism and quality of the judiciary;
3. simplify the judiciary and ensure that the law is applied fairly by upholding truth;
4. enhance the capacity and quality of security, defense and public order institutions;
5. enrich the legal system and legislation by respecting and strengthening traditional and customary laws;
6. respect the principle of equality before the law by example, as set by the head of state and all government officials in their abiding by the law;
7. increase international cooperation to create a perspective that is secure, peaceful, fair and conducive to the promotion of welfare.
Law enforcement is among the strategic issues the public has spotlighted with hopes for improvement, because this issue has frequently disrupted justice since the Republic of Indonesia was proclaimed in 1945. Despite the change in regimes -- from Sukarno to Megawati Soekarnoputri -- law enforcement has continued to lag behind and has often been considered less than important.
Sluggish law enforcement and the minor importance attached to it is illogical and contrary to public opinion: The public looks very favorably on a regime that has a consistent approach in law enforcement, and it sympathizes with and supports regimes that give them a sense that justice is being meted out.
Highlighting the prospects for law enforcement under the Susilo administration is thus relevant, not least because this is the first government that was directly elected by the people in the republic's history. In this context, the vision, mission and programs offered in their campaign White Paper serve as a guide for the public in anticipating their proper implementation.
Several recent developments offer some hope, such as the investigation of local government heads allegedly involved in embezzling the regional budget -- a process that was initiated when President Susilo granted permission to interrogate regional leaders.
The licensure system should indeed be reviewed in the coming years because under previous governments, the system was frequently manipulated to reap benefits through corrupt and collusive means. Those in authority could thus take advantage of suspects by withholding such permission for a price.
For the sake of future law enforcement, those suspected of involvement in criminal acts, regardless of their public posts, should be freely accessible to law enforcers for investigative purposes. Investigators should not require any license to do so from their superiors, because when the officials committed their alleged crimes, they did not seek the permission of their bosses, either.
The second development worth mentioning is the issuance of Presidential Instruction No. 5/2004 on the acceleration of corruption eradication, which coincided with the declaration of the National Anticorruption Movement and the commemoration of World Anticorruption Day on Dec. 9.
Alongside this anticorruption drive, it is also interesting to note the move by the Corruption Eradication Commission to detain Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Governor Abdullah Puteh for graft.
Puteh's detention seems to follow the momentum of this resolve against corruption in terms of its timeliness -- two days before the instruction was issued.
The case of Puteh, however, was inherited from Megawati's regime, which took no significant action since Puteh was implicated during her presidency. Consequently, when the Susilo administration made its move in its early days, doubts arose as to whether the arrest was no more than lip service to the anti-graft drive, to show that it was "serious" about the issue.
As a concrete follow-up to the presidential instruction, President Susilo also signed a letter of permission on the same day for the investigation of 14 government officials: six members of the House of Representatives, four regents, two governors and two mayors.
Even with such law enforcement measures, public opinion at the beginning of December indicated that society had not perceived any significant impact from the law enforcement agenda Susilo introduced in his campaign.
The working agenda of the justice and human rights ministry in Susilo's United Indonesia Cabinet was even seen as being similar to Megawati's Cabinet, with this particular issue featuring only in discussions. As reported in Kompas on Dec. 3, this skepticism came from legislators of Susilo's own Democratic Party.
Such conditions certainly cannot be allowed to continue, and it should be made clear as to when the public can begin to expect results from the concrete measures the law enforcement apparatus claims to have taken.
One of the real effects the public wants to see is an in-depth investigation into the murder of rights campaigner Munir.
To date, activists of non-governmental organization and law enforcers have agreed not to conduct another autopsy on Munir's remains and to use the autopsy report sent by the government of the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, it is unclear as to whether the plan to set up an independent investigative team to look into Munir's death will be realized.
When she met with Susilo, Munir's widow Suciwati received some indications that the president had consented to setting up the team. Later, however, it was learned that the president had disapproved of the plan. Taking a unique handle on the situation, Susilo then denied that he had rejected the plan.
Beyond the establishment of an investigative team, solving Munir's murder could be a milestone in Susilo's performance in law enforcement and human rights, if it is conducted in a transparent and accountable manner to expose the masterminds behind the crime.
One of the main drawbacks that has been a frequent constraint on law enforcement is interagency coordination -- or lack thereof. In the New Order era, a forum of cooperation called Mahkejapol existed, linking the Supreme Court, justice ministry, prosecutor's office and the police. At that time, it was believed that the forum manipulated cases at all levels of the judiciary so that a suspect, regardless of their being a culprit or a scapegoat, would be found guilty and be handed down a heavy sentence. In the early years of the reform era, the forum was abolished.
Experience has shown, however, that the cooperation applied through the forum is also needed in this reform period.
The lack of cooperation and coordination between the various branches of law enforcement has helped many offenders slip through loopholes in the system, such as in the investigative process or even in the process of arrest.
It is clear that interagency coordination is required; and in this reform era, the coordination would obviously be founded on a different motivation from that of the New Order.
Today, interagency coordination would aim to prevent any criminal and or violator from evading the law.
For the future, law enforcement requires a firm and consistent leadership. In terms of the amended 1945 Constitution, the hope for such leadership can be placed in the President with regard to his jurisdiction covering the prosecutor's office, the police, justice and human rights ministry and other government agencies related to law enforcement; the Supreme Court, for its power over public courts, military tribunals, religious courts and state administration courts; and the Constitutional Court.
Outside these official institutions, the mass media and NGOs should be expected to serve as the fourth and fifth pillars of democracy and act as a control on government administrations, particularly in the realm of law enforcement.
Only in this fashion can the law truly be upheld.
The writer is post-graduate program lecturer at the School of Law, the University of Indonesia.