Performance of legal enforcers remains poor
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The country's law enforcers remain unable to satisfy people in terms of service, raising doubt over their capability in upholding justice, the National Ombudsman Commission said.
The commission said public complaints over the performance of law enforcement agencies and other related institutions had been widespread since its establishment in 2000.
It has so far recorded 4,373 complaints from the public, more than one-third of them about at the courts.
Of the complaints, 14 percent were related to bribery, corruption, collusion and nepotism, another 14 percent to sluggish service and 13 percent to procedural violations. The remaining were connected to discrimination or illegal possession of private property.
"The fact that most of the complaints were related to poor service by law enforcement institutions revealed endemic problems stemming from the incapability of court clerks, judges, police officers and prosecutors," ombudsman chairman Antonius Sujata said in a year-end statement.
He said that the commission had forwarded the complaints to related institutions and provided recommendations on how to address the issues. But only 60 percent of the agencies responded.
Antonius admitted that many state officials tended to ignore recommendations from his commission, whose decisions are not legally binding.
The country has yet to set up a law on the ombudsman commission that could strengthen the status of the commission.
The ombudsman commission was established under a presidential decree in 2000 in a bid to help promote good governance.
Earlier this year, the bill on the ombudsman commission was submitted to the previous House of Representatives for deliberation. However, the government failed to appoint a minister to represent it in the deliberation, prompting the postponement of the bill's debate.
The current House does not deem the bill a priority.
Many have suggested that the commission requires a powerful legal basis to enable it to investigate citizen's complaints about abuses by government officials and agencies.
Unlike in countries where ombudsmen have long been recognized, the country's ombudsman commission has its job reduced to conveying the results of an investigation into complaints it receives from the public to related state agencies for follow up.
According to the presidential decree on the formation of the commission, the independent institution has the authority to clarify, monitor or investigate public reports of services provided by state agencies and government apparatus, including law enforcement bodies.
It also stipulates that the new body aims to create a favorable environment for the eradication of corruption, collusion and nepotism, along with the protection of the rights of the general public to obtain public services, justice and better welfare.