'Law must defend the interest of the lower class'

JAKARTA (JP): Legal experts yesterday asserted the need for national laws which promote the basic principles of human rights and defend the interests of the lower class.

"There are many laws which should be introduced urgently to improve the welfare of the lower class," said Baharuddin Lopa, the secretary general of the National Commission on Human Rights.

He urged that legislation be passed to improve the economic opportunity of the lower class so that they can compete fairly in the marketplace.

Lopa, who acquired a doctorate of law in 1982 from Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java, also noted the symbiotic relationship between laws and the protection of human rights.

"If we compare the meanings of the law and human rights, then it is quite clear that there is no principal difference between the two and they are even contiguous," he said.

"In fact, we can say that by upholding the law we are also upholding human rights," he said at the National Resiliency Council yesterday during a seminar on "The Exercise of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution in an Era of Globalization."

The House of Representatives is in the process of revamping various national laws still in use despite being remnants of the Dutch colonial age.

Lopa argued that in formulating laws the House must orientate itself to the aspirations and needs of the majority lower class.

"In a democratic state the law should not be created by the will of those in power," he said, adding that legislators should think of what could be given immediately to the people rather than appeasing the interests of the middle and upper classes.

Anti-monopoly

Among the most urgent legislation needed is an anti-monopoly law. "The anti-monopoly law is needed to allow the lower class to obtain equal (business) opportunity," Lopa said.

The question of an anti-monopoly law in Indonesia has been raised often both domestically and internationally.

Compared to other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia and Brunei are the only two nations which do not have anti-monopoly laws. Included in the ASEAN group is Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

"If the monopoly system is not stopped, then it will only perpetuate a situation where the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker," Lopa remarked.

Apart from the need to refurbish existing laws, speakers yesterday also expressed concern over the lack of professionalism afflicting the legal apparatus.

"This problem is even worse than system itself," Lopa remarked adding that "we often hear of various court decisions which are a bit hard for the brain to accept."

Though he did not identify specific cases, the supreme court's decision to overturn a ruling against the government -- won by residents in the Kedungombo land dispute -- and the issuing of personal memos from the chief justice have sparked much ire.

Lopa was joined by legal academic H. Muladi in his complaints about professionalism in the legal apparatus.

"It can't be denied that such a concerning situation is caused by a inept sense of professionalism," Lopa, underlining that integrity should come down from the top to be emulated by the lower legal apparatus.

"If we can't accomplish that, then violations of human rights will continue," he added.

Muladi said there must be a professional work ethic for those working in the legal profession.

"Malpractice occurs when a professional performs his or her duties in a manner sub-standard to the requirements set forth by the profession; the result is that other people are harmed as a consequence of their malpractice," said the rector of Diponegoro University.(mds)