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.