Ombudsman, a means for good governance

Ombudsman, a means for good governance

By Benget Simbolon Tnb.

JAKARTA (JP): At a seminar here last week, a prominent speaker
from the Netherlands presented a new and distinctive idea to
Indonesia's fledgling democracy: having an ombudsman.

The ombudsman is an institution set up to investigate
government and government officials following the complaints of
members of the public, Marten Oosting told the seminar on the
function of a parliamentary ombudsman in a democratic state.

Oosting, the national ombudsman of the Netherlands, said the
central responsibility of every ombudsman is to stand up for the
public's right for good governance and a fair judicial system.

"My impression is that during my five-day stay here many
people are very interested in such an idea," he told The Jakarta
Post. "Well, it's not surprising as we've seen since the fall of
Soeharto a real democracy is developing here."

Marzuki Darusman, the deputy chairman of Indonesia's National
Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM), told the Post that
Indonesia was still studying the idea of an ombudsman and would
not establish such an position in the foreseeable future.

"We're still on the stage of studying the idea. There are a
number of prerequisites that have yet to be fulfilled. But I
think if we have to have such a system established, we will do it
in stages. At first, it could be an ombudsman with a limited
function of dealing only with people's security," Marzuki
explained.

He said the National Commission on Human Rights Komnas HAM
could be partially functioned as an ombudsman when dealing with
security problems.

But Sunaryati Hartono, a legal expert of the Indonesian Law
Development Agency who also spoke at the seminar, underlined the
urgency of appointing an ombudsman in Indonesia.

"We've seen that it is very difficult for ordinary people to
get access to the authorities in having their rights recognized,"
he told the seminar organized by the Ministry of Justice and the
Indonesian Law Development Agency.

It has been a public secret here that people have to bribe
officials to get their identity cards or land certificates
properly processed, or else they would be entangled in a complex
web of bureaucracy.

It has also been common knowledge that breaches of justice
often takes place in many Indonesian courts -- when truth is
silenced and money speaks. Bribery can reverse judges' decisions
or prosecutors' indictments as well as manipulate police reports.

In short, one can bend the law to one's own benefit by
colluding with the authorities and dishonest officials like what
happened in Indonesia under the authoritarian rule of former
president Soeharto.

Government development programs, actually aimed at increasing
the people's quality of life, have in many cases brought about
opposite results because of corruption and nepotism.

In many cases, the government's development programs have even
harmed the people's interest in that they were forced to sell
their land at prices lower than the market prices, as in the case
of Kedungombo in Central Java. More than 5,000 families were
forced to move from their homes because the government wanted to
build a dam on their plots. The villagers received only very low
compensation. Those who refused to surrender their land were
branded as communists, a reference to people even worse than
criminals.

The absence of good governance and rampant violation of human
rights in the country has led to tyranny, thereby justifying the
call for an institution such as ombudsman.

Oosting said an ombudsman could significantly contribute to
helping to create good government.

The ombudsman position originated in Sweden. This kingdom
appointed its first ombudsman in 1809. Then it was followed by
Finland which appointed its own in 1919.

But it was Denmark which modernized the institution in 1953
before gaining a footing all over the world.

In its modern form, the ombudsman is an element in the
democratic system of checks and balances that gives priority to
the interest of the general public.

Now over 80 countries, in Europe, North America, Latin
America, Africa and Asia, have established the institution of
ombudsman, although with different names. In South Africa, for
example, it is called the People's Protector. In Spain as El
Defensor de Pueblo (the Defender of the Public).

In September 1995, the European Union established its first
supranational ombudsman in the world to protect the public
interests from European Union authorities.

"I think that is an impressive development," Oosting told the
Post.

In Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand are in a
process of forming ones. What about Indonesia?. Is it going to
establish one?.

History has shown that no government can stunt the public
aspirations forever. It can only do so temporarily, before it is
finally toppled by its own people. A recent living example was
the fall of Soeharto who had to step down from the presidency in
the wake of students' demonstrations and public pressures last
year.

The post-Soeharto era seems to give birth to true democracy
that has been long expected by the public, particularly by those
who had been oppressed during his 32-year rule.

Understandable, therefore, that pressures from the general
public are mounting for Indonesia to have a good governance and
to truly enforce law to all layers of the society so that it can
protect the interest of the people. An establishment of ombudsman
may help the people to achieve their long-dreamt goal.

The writer is a journalist.