M.A. Rachman appointed new attorney general

JAKARTA (JP): After a few days of delay, a specialist staff member in the Attorney General's Office, Muhammad Abdurrachman, or M. A. Rachman as he is widely known, has been appointed as the new attorney general.

State/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo announced on Tuesday night that the President would swear in Rachman as the new attorney general on Wednesday afternoon.

"It was just decided before I announced the news that President Megawati Soekarnoputri appointed Muhammad Abdurrachman as the new attorney general," Bambang said at the press conference.

Bambang said that Rachman was a former deputy attorney general for general crimes and was currently serving as a an expert staff in the office.

"I am sorry that I cannot give further details about the new attorney general because we are still preparing the necessary documents for his appointment," he said.

Bambang was initially scheduled to hold the press briefing at 4 p.m. However, he delayed it for five-hours as he had to undertake final consultations with the President.

When announcing her Cabinet last Thursday, Megawati announced that she would appoint the attorney general soon after the induction of the new Cabinet members.

Speculation was rife that the long delay in the appointment of the new attorney general was caused by a political tug-of-war among the major political parties and the military, as the outcome could affect the fate of several high profile corruption and human rights cases.

The position of the attorney general is considered to be one of the most crucial posts in Megawati's Cabinet as the work of the state's chief law officer will determine the public's perception of her government's commitment to eradicating corruption and settling past cases of human rights abuses.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid had failed to prove the seriousness of his government toward efforts to eradicate corruption and bring human right violators to court as he initially appointed Golkar member Marzuki Darusman as attorney general in 1999.

Marzuki was replaced earlier this year by Baharuddin Lopa who was said to have embarked on a major anticorruption drive before his untimely death.

Marsilam Simanjuntak took over the vacant office during the last days of Abdurrahman's tenure.

Rachman's appointment was something of a surprise as his name was never mentioned as one of possible candidates.

When he was deputy attorney general for general crimes during Marzuki's tenure, Rachman served as the executive chairman of the special team formed by the Attorney General's Office to officially investigate allegations of human rights violations following the historic Aug. 30 ballot in East Timor.

According to critics, the team did not produce satisfactory results as some of the major cases of human rights abuses in East Timor remained concealed. None of the 18 suspects named by the team included high-ranking military officers.

It is questionable whether he will finally be able to resolve outstanding human rights violation cases, especially those allegedly involving high-ranking military officers. (dja)