RI's legal system too timid

RI's legal system too timid

For the record, judges in Indonesia have been showing some
backbone lately. The trouble is, as much as they've been lauded
for a willingness to render tough decisions, they've also been
criticized for the perceived leniency of the sentences they hand
out.

First there was the former governor of East Timor, who was
found guilty of failing to prevent human-rights abuses by his
subordinates and handed a three-year sentence. Then there was
Tommy Soeharto's 15-year sentence for ordering the assassination
of a judge. Now, Golkar bigwig and parliamentary speaker Akbar
Tandjung has been slapped with a three-year sentence in a
corruption case involving Rp 40 billion -- about US$4 million --
of funds from the state logistics agency, Bulog. Akbar maintains
his innocence and is appealing the court decision.

What happened in the Akbar case? For months, the Bulog funds
meant for the poor were alleged to have been used by Golkar. Yet
when the case came to trial, the alleged connection with Golkar
was not pursued. One of Akbar's two co-defendants said he had
stashed away the money, and then paid it all back. Bizarre as all
this was, prosecutors decided not to pursue any possible money
trail.

As Indonesia's legal system starts to move towards reform, the
next hurdle to overcome is the timidity of judges and
prosecutors. Whenever prudent, Indonesians should be able to
expect their prosecutors to pursue cases forcefully, and for
judges to be tough. Still, there is no shortage of opportunity
for the legal system to prove itself. A start has been made; it
needs to be pushed along.

-- The Far Eastern Economic Review, Hong Kong