Legal expert regrets RI law still takes sides

Legal expert regrets RI law still takes sides

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): Two dogs and 15 goldfish. Add to it a spacious
yard full of flowers and fruit trees like banana, jackfruit and
rambutan. They are what make the house of Harkristuti Harkrisnowo
a home.

And the sound of music.

"I love classical, jazz, Dixieland, Latin American music, all
kinds of music," said the head of the criminal department of the
School of Law of the University of Indonesia.

"I also play the piano, even though I am not good at it. But a
few days ago I broke the piano and haven't had the chance to have
it repaired," she told The Jakarta Post.

Harkristuti was born in Bogor, West Java, in 1956. Her father
was a member of the military and her mother taught at a women's
vocational high school. "She taught things like table manners and
cooking ... I enjoyed her cooking."

Asked if she also liked to cook, Harkristuti laughed: "No, but
I like eating."

Both of her parents have died and Harkristuti lives in Depok,
the same small town where her campus is located, with her pets
and two housemaids.

Her family often asks her why she alone has yet to follow her
four siblings into marriage.

"At the beginning I felt uncomfortable (with their questions)
but now it is no problem. I know many women who are not married.

"Some might remain single as a matter of choice, but as for
me ... I haven't found my prince charming," she said with a
laugh.

She acknowledged that society, due to the priority on family,
stigmatized unmarried women. She believed it would lessen
gradually over time.

"Marriage is important for the continuation of a nation," she
quipped while puffing on a clove cigarette.

Harkristuti has taken her own path in working toward the
betterment of the nation. As a lecturer, she always tries to
guide students to become good citizens.

She graduated from the University of Indonesia's School of Law
in 1979. In 1988 she obtained her master's from Sam Houston State
University in Huntsville, Texas, and in 1991 she became the first
Indonesian to receive a doctorate in criminal justice.

One of her visiting lecturers, a UN official from the Criminal
Justice Division, asked her to work with him in Geneva, but she
refused. She also turned down an offer to teach in a U.S.
university because she preferred taking care of her aging father,
who died two years ago.

She shared her views about legal issues in the country in an
interview with The Jakarta Post last week.

Question: How do you view the implementation of the law in our
country, which claims to uphold the supremacy of law?

Answer: That's what bothers us most. We in the legal education
institutions teach our students about law, what is a good law,
how it should be implemented. But what is happening now is a blow
to us because it is against what we teach. We teach the students
about law from the book, but law in action is quite different.

Q: How can this happen?

A: Not everybody respects the law and bases their way of life on
the law. Only the people who have to refer their action to the
law. What I mean by the "people" here is those who do not have
access to power, politics and money. So, the law is seen as a
commodity and your access to law depends on your resources, money
or power. If you have such resources, you can easily turn the law
upside down and use it as a tool for your interest.

Q: When did this condition begin?

A: For quite a time people have used the law as a tool to enrich
themselves, to maintain their power, including to maintain the
status quo. This was clearly seen in the past decade.

Q: Some say that it happened since the New Order was in power.

A: Yes, and it became much worse in the past decade with the
issuance of stipulations that made people suffer and were
beneficial to certain individuals or certain people.

Q: Like what?

A: For example, the national car policy, the establishment of the
Clove Management and Supporting Board (which monopolized sales of
farmers), the land policies ... We in the Legal Aid Institute of
the University of Indonesia often receive complaints from people
who lost their right to their own property because of the
regulations.

It's so sad, law -- the regulations and implementation -- does
not take sides with the people, it does not take sides with those
who are right, but those who have money.

Q: How do you explain the situation to your students?

A: It's difficult. We tell them about the good legal principles,
but in fact it is politics and money plays which rule. We give
the examples to the students so that they will not act like that
when they graduate. We teach them about legal ethics, legal
morals; we talk about law and justice. Law is not money and there
is a deeper orientation they should know.

Q: Don't you feel frustrated with the situation?

A: Yes, but if I am frustrated and then I stop and turn to
another field, I would waste the knowledge that I have obtained.
I still have a minor hope that the future legal commission will
be better. I also have access to interaction with prospective
lawyers who will later work within the society.

We need idealism, otherwise the situation will become worse.

I hope that we will produce more qualified, good lawyers. We
also give training to prosecutors, police and judges. Sometimes I
speak in workshops and seminars to share my ideas.

Q: Why are you interested in criminal justice?

A: When I was in the University of Indonesia, my thesis was about
private international law. I did it for the sake of getting a
job. When I graduated, I received an offer from my superior in
the criminal law research center. I like researching and I took
the job. I also learned a lot from the university's Legal Aid
Institute. There was so much to learn about criminal law, it is
so dynamic. While civil law has more certain rules of the game
and it is not that dynamic. Well, economic law started to develop
here only in the last few years.

Q: It seems that you are also interested in politics.

A: Not really, but law also interacts with other things like
politics, After all, it cannot be separated from politics because
laws are also a product of politics. And legal implementation
cannot be separated from politics.

Q: How do you view the Bank Bali scandal?

A: At the beginning it was a civil case, but then there were
violations, so it became a criminal case. And because it was put
in the spotlight by political parties, it became a political
issue.

But I suspect that it will not be settled in accordance with a
pure legal process.

Q: Why do you think that?

A: Because I observe that the investigation, the examination, the
information gatherings look so difficult. I asked my friends who
are experts in banking law and they said that it is actually so
simple, but why is it made complicated? In fact there is a strong
political nuance here. The case has been taken over by a
political institution, the House of Representatives, from the
legal institution. Why did they do it? Because our legal
institution does not work. It does not work because it involves
people who have access to power or who are close to those in
power.

Our country is a patriarchal state, we depend heavily on our
supervisor. If the supervisor is wrong, we are reluctant to warn
whoever it is, let alone take action. I think this is one of the
factors why the case is unfinished. Law enforcers are reluctant
to handle the case because it also involves power, politics and
money.

I also am not sure that the case would follow pure legal
procedures because it is alleged the case involves the president
and ministers. So it is not easy for the law enforcers, who are
their subordinates, to do their job objectively, without having a
fear of losing their job.

This is a problem that we have long identified.

Q: Does this also apply in Soeharto's case?

A: In Soeharto's case, there are so many people who are involved.
If you are involved, you'll prefer to be silent. It is human, and
this happens all the time.

Q: It will surely worsen our international reputation.

A: Our reputation is already in tatters. And the people become
the victims.

Q: What is your hope for the new government?

A: I have so many hopes but what makes me so sad is that I don't
have any guarantee that it will be better, which means that I
will have to keep on struggling in my own way. This is why I say
nglakoni, to live life as it is. Do your best, but don't bite off
more than you can chew. I live simply. I don't set a target to
achieve a certain position or a certain amount of wealth. If I
can get those things, that's OK, otherwise, that's also fine.

Q: Are you happy?

A: I am quite content with what I have. I still have problems
but I can deal with them.