M.A. Rachman appointed new attorney general
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)