Legal Aid Foundation custodians defend election
Legal Aid Foundation custodians defend election
JAKARTA (JP): The custodians of the Indonesian Legal Aid
Foundation (YLBHI) yesterday defended their decision to appoint
Bambang Widjojanto as the executive chairman, despite accusations
that the election was "undemocratic".
Bambang's election is final, Adnan Buyung Nasution, a member
of YLBHI's Board of Trustees, told a media conference at the
foundation's head office.
"The board of trustees is the highest authority in a
foundation. People must abide by its decisions," Buyung said.
Buyung said foundation status is still the most appropriate
for an organization like YLBHI to help it survive the current
political climate in Indonesia.
The board is under pressure to hold another election from many
of the foundation's senior staff and leaders in its regional
offices. The critics argue that the decision on YLBHI's
leadership is too important to be left to the trustees alone.
Some of those critics have since formed a federation which
they say is intended to save the YLBHI from disintegration. They
said the federation will conduct the foundation's day-to-day
activities pending a new election.
Present at the media conference yesterday were Board of
Trustees chairman Harjono Tjitrosoebeno, secretary Aswab Mahasin,
member Ali Sadikin and election committee members Todung Mulya
Lubis and Tuti Heraty Noerhadi Roosseno.
As the briefing took place, some of the dissenters were
working in their offices on the same premises, some occasionally
passing the briefing room to eavesdrop.
Bambang Widjojanto, a lawyer with plenty of experience in
handling controversial political cases, won seven of the 16 votes
in the election by the board of trustees on Feb. 29. He replaced
Buyung who resigned from the post last October.
Bambang has been given until Monday to announce the line up of
his executive board.
Harjono said that the federation formed by the dissenters runs
counter to YLBHI's statutes. "We do not recognize a federation in
our organization," he said.
The federation includes six figures who ran for the post --
Mulyana W. Kusumah, Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan, Amartiwi Saleh,
H.J.C. Princen, Hendardi and Rambun Tjayo -- and representatives
of six regional offices in Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang,
Yogyakarta, Bandar Lampung and Ujungpandang.
Buyung disclosed that he had listed Bambang as his third
choice for successor after Frans Hendra Winarta and the duet of
Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan and Mulyana W. Kusumah. But when their
names were proposed to the regional offices, most opted for
Bambang.
"Bambang is the right person for the post despite his low key
appearance. He has a balanced judgment on every problem, has a
solid network with other NGOs, he is not an emotional person and
most importantly, he is still young," he said. (imn)
Editorial -- Page 4