Politics and the law

What hidden motives, if any, are there behind the planned investigation of politicians opposed to President Abdurrahman Wahid by the newly installed Attorney General, Baharuddin Lopa? As it happens, among the names that the attorney general mentioned last Wednesday as candidates for his investigation into suspected acts of corruption, collusion and nepotism -- crimes popularly known as "KKN" -- are members of the House of Representatives (DPR) who have in past months been highly critical of the President and are strong advocates of the holding of a special session by the nation's supreme policy-making body, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), which could potentially lead to Abdurrahman's impeachment.

One of the two legislators threatened with investigation is Arifin Panigoro, who is a prominent businessman and faction leader in the House of Representatives for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), which has the biggest number of seats in the DPR; the other is Akbar Tandjung, who besides being speaker of the House is also chairman of the party that holds the second biggest number of seats in the House, Golkar.

Both have been highly critical of the President's performance since he came to power in October 1999 and both are strong supporters of calling a special session of the MPR. Another politician in the same position is Alvin Lie, of the National Mandate Party (PAN), which is chaired by MPR Speaker Amien Rais, another outspoken critic of the President. Corruption charges were earlier handed down to another leading Golkar figure, Ginandjar Kartasasmita, who was a mining minister under president Soeharto, and Nurdin Halid, another Golkar politician and member of the House.

Not all the candidates to be investigated for suspected acts of corruption, collusion and nepotism under the former New Order regime of president Soeharto are politicians. Finding themselves in the same boat are business tycoons such as Prajogo Pangestu, Sinivasan Marimutu and Sjamsul Nursalim. In June 1999, however, a South Jakarta District Court cleared Arifin of any wrongdoing in the issuance of Rp. 1.8 trillion in promissory notes in his capacity as president commissioner of the oil company PT Medco Central Asia, a subsidiary of the Medco group of companies. An earlier investigation into Akbar Tandjung's case was halted for lack of evidence.

One thing everybody in Indonesia is agreed on is that all citizens should stand equal before the law. In principle, legislators and business tycoons deserve no special privileges where the enforcement of the law is concerned. So why, then, the lively public debate over the impending investigations? It is, perhaps, first and foremost a measure of the loss of popular trust in President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" that this question should at present be prominent in the minds of millions of Indonesians. In fact, speculation of impending measures against the President's political opponents began to surface as soon as it became known that Attorney General Marzuki Darusman was to be replaced by Baharuddin Lopa.

Lopa, for that matter has long enjoyed a reputation as a man of impeccable conduct with enough guts to pursue justice. Many Indonesians hope that they will be proven right in their trust and that Lopa will be able to stick to his principles and evade the lure of personal benefits that politics can bring. To be able to keep the public's trust, however, Baharuddin Lopa will have to convincingly demonstrate his impartiality. By reviving cases against Gus Dur's political adversaries that have already been dismissed in previous court hearings, Lopa is risking his reputation. Indonesians can only hope that he will prove himself to be man the public believes he is.