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.