Like father, like son
Like father, like son
From Republika
Our judicial system proved ineffective when the Attorney
General's Office failed to execute the sentence meted out to
Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra for involvement in the Bulog-Goro
land swindle because he was nowhere to be found. At the same time
this failure shows the weakness of our law enforcement
apparatuses, particularly regarding control over law violators.
Long before the Supreme Court sentenced Tommy to 18 months in
jail, the prosecutor's office should have foreseen the
possibility of Tommy disappearing and taken the necessary steps
to deal with it. As it is, the office now has to work extra hard
to prove that law enforcement in Indonesia is not a half-hearted
undertaking, otherwise the public's sense of justice will be
offended.
Cursorily, the problem related to the execution of the
sentence passed on Tommy is merely a legal technicality. Besides,
Tommy is buying time through "lobbying" and "negotiations" on the
grounds that he was not sure that his safety could be assured. In
fact, Tommy is indirectly defying the law to show that he is one
of the untouchables in this country. He has resorted to legal and
nonlegal attempts, which is evidence of his arrogance.
Therefore, the prosecutor's office must not hesitate to take
firm and stern action. Abandon the delicate approach. Treat Tommy
harshly in the same way other fugitives are treated.
Discrimination must be alien to law enforcement in Indonesia. Our
people are fed up with the privileges granted to these
untouchables.
Many people were disappointed when the trial of Soeharto was
halted. In a trial process, this is not uncommon, though. There
are many other legal channels that can be resorted to, such as an
appeal filed by the prosecutors to the Jakarta High Court. What
should be prevented from happening is an attempt to shelve the
case under the pretext of national reconciliation or in the name
of a collective sin.
A ruling by the Jakarta High Court to the effect of upholding
the appeal by the team of prosecutors in the graft case of former
president Soeharto (Republika, Nov. 9, 2000), will open up an
opportunity to settle the case on the judicial track. A trial of
the former president will be highly influential to the image of
law enforcement in Indonesia.
In the trial of Soeharto, our political elite should never
again resort to the philosophy of mikul dhuwur mendem jero
(respect the seniors and forget their mistakes), that Soeharto,
in his early years of rule, applied to the late Sukarno. Despite
his great merit in Indonesia's development, mistakes must be
subject to examination and trial. Virtue will not cover vice. Let
a court of law decide whether Soeharto's actions were right or
wrong. The principle of equality before the law must always be
upheld by one and all in this country.
OKTRY MAKTA
Muhammadiyah University
Yogyakarta