Law needed to probe Presidential 'affairs'

Law needed to probe Presidential 'affairs'

JAKARTA (JP): The bill on the presidency now being drafted by
the House of Representatives should include a provision that
allows for investigations into allegations of extramarital
affairs involving the head of state, a legal expert said.

Criminologist Adrianus Meliala of the University of Indonesia
said on Tuesday the bill could stipulate the appointment of an
independent attorney to investigate sex scandals featuring the
president.

"The independent attorney should be financed by the state,"
Adrianus said in a discussion on sex and politics held by the
university's political sciences laboratory.

President Abdurrahman Wahid was hit by an allegation early
this month that he was romantically involved with a married woman
in 1995-1996 when he was chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama, the
country's largest Islamic organization.

Police have launched an investigation into Aryanti Sitepu, the
Jakarta woman who supplied the details, and the two magazines
that initially reported the alleged affair. They are facing
possible defamation charges.

The President has dismissed the allegation and denied any
knowledge of the woman.

Adrianus said Indonesia could follow the United States' model,
which appointed independent attorney Kenneth Star to investigate
President Bill Clinton's affair with White House intern Monica
Lewinsky.

Adrianus said however that even if a presidency bill was
enacted, a president could not be prosecuted for misdemeanors
that took place before he or she assumed office.

"The scandals must have occurred in his or her term in office
to be investigated, and there must be evidence that they affected
the government's performance and policy," he said.

Adrianus said he thought that the police investigation of the
women at the center of the scandal involving President
Abdurrahman would be discontinued because police would hesitate
to question the head of state.

The House is currently drafting a bill that would regulate the
conduct of the president.

Legislator Slamet Effendy Yusuf of the Golkar Party agreed
that there was no need for the House to investigate the scandal
because the alleged affair happened before Abdurrahman became
president. He stressed that what he did then was a personal
matter.

"But we could still question why the President denied any
knowledge of Aryanti. Why did he lie?" Slamet said.

He said many House members were reluctant to press for an
investigation because they were probably conducting extramarital
affairs themselves.

Slamet said (Indonesian) society seemed to accept polygamy
practiced by charismatic leaders. "Some parents even hand over
their girls to a kyai (religious leader)," he said. (jun)