RI law partially incorporates `Sharia': Oetojo
RI law partially incorporates `Sharia': Oetojo
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian legal system has incorporated
only parts of the Sharia, or Islamic law, because Indonesia also
has people of other faiths, Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman
said on Saturday.
The plurality of religious followers in Indonesia must be
considered in drafting and compiling the national law, Oetojo
said during a seminar on the relations between Islamic laws and
the Indonesian legal system.
"Not all of the Sharia could be incorporated into Indonesian
law because of the plurality tolerated in this country," he said
at the seminar organized by the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian
Moslem Intellectuals Association (ICMI).
Anwar Harjono, the chairman of the Indonesian Council for
Islamic Propagation (DDII), said the Islamic community here is
insisting that the Sharia be incorporated in its entirety.
"We do not need to transform the entire content of the Holy
Koran into the national law," said Anwar.
It is essential that Moslems in Indonesia be allowed to live
in accordance with Sharia, he added.
Oetojo reminded that the Indonesian legal system already
carries the spirit of the religion.
He pointed out that the values of Pancasila, the five-point
national ideology, are compatible with the principles contained
in the Sharia.
The first tenet of Pancasila is belief in one God. Indonesia
recognizes five official religions: Islam, Christianity, Roman
Catholicism, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Skepticism
Oetojo acknowledged that Indonesia's laws are in dire need of
reform because public confidence in the legal system has eroded.
He said that such skepticism has led the people to violate the
laws.
Skepticism is also reflected in the attitude shown by some
members of the public that the court and the law enforcement
agencies can be bribed.
The huge backlog of appeal cases at the Supreme Court
indicates that people mistrust the authority and credibility of
the lower courts.
Busthanul Arifin said that the plan to revamp the legal system
provides Indonesia with an opportunity to establish a system
which is more in line with national values and culture. This
includes incorporating the Sharia.
"Most of the existing legal products were inherited from the
times of the Dutch colonial administration," Busthanul said.
He said that many European countries and Australia have
incorporated some of the principles of the Sharia before
Indonesia did.
He said the laws on divorce in these countries, for example,
now puts greater emphasis on settling the marital dispute than
simply trying to determine the culprit.
"Indonesia, where Moslems make up the majority of the
population, has not adopted this Islamic approach in a marriage
dispute. Instead, it still clings to outdated laws which even the
Dutch have discarded," Busthanul said. (02)