Marzuki determined to reform Attorney General's Office

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Marzuki Darusman says he is determined to reform and restructure his "corrupt" and "inefficient" office in response to public demands for professional and independent prosecutors.

Marzuki announced on Wednesday the establishment of a team to reform and restructure the office as a follow up to a legal audit carried out to identify ways to improve the office's integrity, professionalism and effectiveness.

The team, involving people outside the office, was led by Deputy Attorney for Career Development Affairs Suparman and lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis.

"Growing public pressure on the office, weak law enforcement and judicial system, and the new challenges in the handling of various economic, environmental and human rights cases has prompted us to enhance our capability," he said at the opening of a workshop on Reform Concepts and Strategies of Public Prosecutorial Services.

Marzuki said his office was drafting a new bill to ensure the independence of prosecutors. Under the new bill, an attorney general would be appointed by legislators instead of by the president.

Marzuki acknowledged that the public had a negative view of his office, one that was ineffective and rife with corruption, while prosecutors were perceived to have poor morality.

He blamed this on weak human resources used to past practices.

The legal audit, financed by the Asian Development Bank and conducted by independent auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers, identified three driving forces of change in the country which would affect the Attorney General's Office.

One driving force is the current economic development, which may encourage corruption as many projects are being conducted.

Another is the country's program on regional autonomy, which affects the authority of the Attorney General's Office.

"Technology and its advances could also affect our work, so we have to fully implement the information modernization program to at least improve our filing system.

"The use of computer graphics or animation would also assist courts in visualizing an event or mechanical operations which could shorten a trial," he added.

Marzuki said the office was currently handling hundreds of cases following investigations by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) and some ministries. The cases involve alleged irregularities during the Soeharto regime.

"Several such cases deal with complex commercial crimes while prosecutors have limited experience and expertise," he said.

Most of the cases involve former president Soeharto's children, relatives or cronies. The investigations of these cases have yet to be accomplished.

Many have accused state prosecutors of deliberately dragging their feet in the legal proceedings in handling political-laden cases, since Marzuki is from the former ruling Golkar Party, which supported the then regime.

According to Suparman, his team will reform the recruitment system so that new prosecutors will not only have expertise in the field of law, but also be able to master information technology and foreign languages.

The office will also provide training and education to specialize the prosecutors, including in white-collar crimes and in human rights.

Lubis added that the reform was expected to give birth to a modern Attorney General's Office, which would able to provide legal services to the public. Legal proceedings in the office would also no longer be a burden to justice seekers.

"But to make it happen, the office should be free from political interests," he said. (bby)