Much rides on antigraft court
Much rides on antigraft court
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta
The capability of the newly established Anticorruption Court to
bring to justice two suspected corruptors, one of them Aceh
Governor Abdullah Puteh, is the only way for President Megawati
Soekarnoputri to counter doubts about her determination to
eradicate widespread corruption.
The court, which is designed to try corruption cases handled
by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), is scheduled to
handle the case of Puteh, a suspect in the alleged marking up of
the price of a Russian-made helicopter that caused state losses
of Rp 4 billion (US$440,000).
Another case for the judges is the trial of Harun Letlet, head
of finance at the Ministry of Transportation's Directorate
General of Sea Transportation, who is suspected of involvement in
a Rp 10 billion markup in the construction of a seaport in
Maluku.
Iskandar Sonhadji, a former member of the now defunct joint
Anticorruption Team (TGPTPK), said on Friday that there was
little information about the court's judges as most of them were
not known in public.
"They have yet to start working. I don't know whether they can
demonstrate integrity and resist temptation or pressure from
defendants," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The court has been initially established as a division of the
Central Jakarta District Court but has nationwide jurisdiction.
The President has appointed nine judges to the court, including
three noncareer judges.
Due to questions concerning their integrity and legal
expertise, the judges, especially newly appointed noncareer ones,
will need to prove that they are the right people to send high-
profile corruptors to jail, activists said.
Asep Rahmat Fadjar of the Judiciary Observer Coalition (KPP),
who observed the selection of the judges, said that the integrity
of some of the judges was questionable.
"Indeed, the integrity of most of the candidates is
questionable. They are the least worst among the worst. But we
must now support them and make sure they stay on track," he said.
According to Asep, the three judges appointed to the district
court level are "not that bad". They are Dudu Duswara, Achmad
Linoh and I Made Hendra Kusuma.
Dudu is a lecturer at Bandung's Langlang Buana University and
currently studying for a doctorate at Padjadjaran University. He
gained the most support from the selection team, which comprised
the Supreme Court, Supreme Court Watch and Partnership for
Governance Reform. He is an active member of the Election
Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) in Bandung.
Achmad Linoh has never practiced law but is a lecturer at the
University of Jember's law school in East Java. There is no
record of his involvement in any anticorruption movements. There
have been reports that he allegedly helped his daughter secure a
job as a lecturer at the law school where he works. Achmad has
denied the allegation.
There is little information about the third judge, public
notary I Made Hendra Kusuma. The KPP only says that Hendra has
never been involved in any anticorruption movements in Bali.
There is also limited information about the three judges for
the corruption court at the high court level or three judges at
the Supreme Court level.
Iskandar believes that the integrity of the Anticorruption
Court, which will play a pivotal role in moves against pandemic
corruption, lay in the hands of the noncareer judges.
"A panel of judges in the Anticorruption Court will consists
of three noncareer judges and two career judges. They will have
more power to decide in a corruption case," he argued.