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.