PDI-P urges Mega to take action against AG Rachman

PDI-P urges Mega to take action against AG Rachman

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Throwing weight behind public demand, the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) urged President Megawati
Soekarnoputri on Tuesday to take stern measures against Attorney
General M.A. Rachman over corruption allegations.

The country's largest party indicated that all evidence
revealed that Rachman was no longer fit to keep the position he
has held since July last year.

"Data from the Public Servant's Wealth Audit Agency (KPKPN)
serves as strong evidence for the President to do something
against Rachman," the party's deputy chairman Roy B.B. Janis said
after the weekly party meeting on Tuesday.

Megawati also chairs the party.

Roy underlined that stiff action against Rachman would set a
good precedent for the country's campaign against rampant
corruption practices in the government.

"Whatever the legal and administrative sanctions imposed on
Rachman, tough measures have to be imposed on all government
officials who are involved in corruption," Roy remarked.

He underlined that due to her power, Megawati had to take
immediate actions against Rachman as there was a growing public
distrust in the attorney general.

"But we should not focus only on Rachman, as there are many
government officials who may have been implicated in corruption
cases," he stressed.

PDI Perjuangan executives also urged Megawati to exercise her
power as Rachman could become a liability for her administration.

"It is very important for us to have an attorney general who
is free from any corruption, especially in the current reform
era," the party's deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung said.

PDI Perjuangan's stance on Rachman is incongruent with its
position on House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung. The
party has never officially demanded Akbar's resignation despite
the fact that he has been convicted in a corruption case and
sentenced to three years in prison by the Central Jakarta
District Court.

Megawati skipped the regular party meeting on Tuesday amid the
furor over Rachman's case, and went to her villa in Gunung
Geulis, West Java, where she planted flowers.

Rachman came under the spotlight after KPKPN revealed his
ownership of a Rp 5 billion (US$561,700) luxury house in Graha
Cinere housing complex, West Java.

He was also asked to clarify bank accounts opened between 1999
to 2001, with deposits amounting to Rp 545.6 million and
US$29,600.

On Tuesday, KPKPN announced the possibility of questioning at
least another five people, including Rachman's son and daughter
to clarify the house' ownership and the bank accounts.

The questioning of Rachman's daughter, Chairunissa, has been
scheduled for Wednesday.

Head of KPKPN investigators for the case, Rudjuan Dartono,
said on Tuesday that Untung Udji Santoso, the director for
investigations at the Attorney General's Office special crimes
department, had been summoned for questioning on Thursday.

A source told The Jakarta Post that Megawati had assigned
legislator Panda Nababan to offer Rachman two choices, resign or
be humiliated for corruption allegations and concealing his
wealth.

The options were given earlier last month before KPKPN
disclosed the data to the press, and back then Rachman insisted
he was ready to resign, the source said.

But when Megawati discussed the case with Rachman directly and
asked Minister of Finance Boediono to open the bank accounts,
Rachman refused to step down, citing the innumerable corruption
cases he was handling.

However, despite mounting pressure for Rachman to relinquish
his post, the source said none of Megawati's close aides could
predict what would be her final decision regarding Rachman.

"The proof is there, but whether she will do something against
Rachman is a different question," the source said.

Constitutional law expert Muchsan of Yogyakarta-based
Indonesian Islamic University supported the demand for Rachman's
dismissal.

He said that Megawati had a strong legal basis to suspend or
fire Rachman as Law No. 8/1974 on state employees and Article 364
and 368 of the Criminal Code provided support for such a
decision.

"The regulations stipulate a public servant implicated, not
necessarily convicted, in a crime carrying a maximum sentence of
five years in jail deserved a six-month suspension," Muchsan told
journalists.

He said that although the post of attorney general was not
categorized as a civil servant, Rachman was subject to the laws
because as a career prosecutor, he was in fact a civil servant.