President urged to suspend AG, big political oarties disagree
President urged to suspend AG, big political oarties disagree
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Calls for President Megawati Soekarnoputri to suspend Attorney
General M.A. Rachman amid corruption allegations and the
misreporting of his wealth, are mounting.
However, politicians from the major political parties say the
claims are exaggerated.
Hendardi of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (PBHI) said on
Sunday that Megawati must suspend Rachman over his failure to
list an exclusive property in his wealth report.
Amid mounting calls for him to resign, Rachman gave no sign
that he would step down. He told the Kompas daily newspaper on
Saturday that he did not want to enter into a debate about his
position.
He even said that he would be taking big cases to court in the
near future.
"Instead of resigning, Rachman now tries to shift public
attention to other cases by declaring that he will take a number
of big cases to court," Hendardi said.
He maintained that Rachman should resign or the President
should suspend him while his wealth was investigated.
If Rachman remained as the attorney general the public would
have no confidence in the Attorney General's Office, Hendardi
said.
If Megawati failed to remove Rachman, the public would doubt
her resolve to eradicate corruption, he said.
Achmad Ali, a legal expert from Hasanuddin University,
suggested that Rachman quit.
"If he quits, the President will no longer carry the burden of
dismissing him," he told the Post.
Both Hendardi and Achmad urged the government to establish an
independent team to investigate Rachman's alleged involvement in
corruption.
The team should consist of lawyers with high integrity,
academics and other independent parties, they said.
Rachman's wealth report to the Public Servant's Wealth Audit
Commission (KPKPN) was found to contain discrepancies.
Questions raised included the attorney general's alleged
ownership of a luxury house worth around Rp 5 billion
(US$561,700) in the Graha Cinere housing complex in Depok, West
Java.
The property was not listed in Rachman's wealth report
submitted to the commission.
Public servants who intentionally conceal their wealth and
their family's assets can be dismissed.
The case has reportedly created friction between senior
prosecutors at the AGO, with some siding with Rachman, while
others are calling for his head.
Office spokesman Barman Zahir and deputy attorney general for
intelligence Basrief Arief, however, dismissed the rumors and
said that all prosecutors stood behind Rachman.
"We all support Pak Rachman. Tell me who doesn't support him?"
Barman asked.
Basrief agreed and said: "There's no one in the AGO who wants
him to quit. KPKPN must finish its probe to prove the
allegations."
Rachman enjoys the supports of not only his subordinates but
also from politicians from the major parties.
Politician Ferry Mursydan Baldan of the Golkar party said it
was not necessary for the President to suspend Rachman at this
point and called on the KPKPN to finish its investigation.
"It's the President's right to install and dismiss an attorney
general. However, at this point Rachman has not yet done anything
wrong. KPKPN has just sought clarification of his uncompleted
wealth report," Ferry said.
Agustin Teras Narang of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle agreed, saying strong evidence was needed to prove the
allegations that Rachman concealed assets in his wealth report
and had been corrupt.