Satya Arinanto

Satya Arinanto

One of the most important issues expected to be resolved promptly
by the new government under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
and Vice President Jusuf Kalla is law enforcement; it is an
expectation based on a pledge the two made in their presidential
campaign.

In a White Paper titled "The Vision, Mission and Programs",
the pair presented their program for justice, law, human rights
and democracy. In it, Susilo-Kalla declared that restructuring
the judiciary and implementing policies to guarantee law
enforcement and legal certainty was imperative.

The program includes plans to:

1. intensify efforts to eradicate corruption, collusion,
nepotism and cronyism;

2. enhance the professionalism and quality of the judiciary;

3. simplify the judiciary and ensure that the law is applied
fairly by upholding truth;

4. enhance the capacity and quality of security, defense and
public order institutions;

5. enrich the legal system and legislation by respecting and
strengthening traditional and customary laws;

6. respect the principle of equality before the law by
example, as set by the head of state and all government officials
in their abiding by the law;

7. increase international cooperation to create a perspective
that is secure, peaceful, fair and conducive to the promotion of
welfare.

Law enforcement is among the strategic issues the public has
spotlighted with hopes for improvement, because this issue has
frequently disrupted justice since the Republic of Indonesia was
proclaimed in 1945. Despite the change in regimes -- from Sukarno
to Megawati Soekarnoputri -- law enforcement has continued to lag
behind and has often been considered less than important.

Sluggish law enforcement and the minor importance attached to
it is illogical and contrary to public opinion: The public looks
very favorably on a regime that has a consistent approach in law
enforcement, and it sympathizes with and supports regimes that
give them a sense that justice is being meted out.

Highlighting the prospects for law enforcement under the
Susilo administration is thus relevant, not least because this is
the first government that was directly elected by the people in
the republic's history. In this context, the vision, mission and
programs offered in their campaign White Paper serve as a guide
for the public in anticipating their proper implementation.

Several recent developments offer some hope, such as the
investigation of local government heads allegedly involved in
embezzling the regional budget -- a process that was initiated
when President Susilo granted permission to interrogate regional
leaders.

The licensure system should indeed be reviewed in the coming
years because under previous governments, the system was
frequently manipulated to reap benefits through corrupt and
collusive means. Those in authority could thus take advantage of
suspects by withholding such permission for a price.

For the sake of future law enforcement, those suspected of
involvement in criminal acts, regardless of their public posts,
should be freely accessible to law enforcers for investigative
purposes. Investigators should not require any license to do so
from their superiors, because when the officials committed their
alleged crimes, they did not seek the permission of their bosses,
either.

The second development worth mentioning is the issuance of
Presidential Instruction No. 5/2004 on the acceleration of
corruption eradication, which coincided with the declaration of
the National Anticorruption Movement and the commemoration of
World Anticorruption Day on Dec. 9.

Alongside this anticorruption drive, it is also interesting to
note the move by the Corruption Eradication Commission to detain
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Governor Abdullah Puteh for graft.

Puteh's detention seems to follow the momentum of this resolve
against corruption in terms of its timeliness -- two days before
the instruction was issued.

The case of Puteh, however, was inherited from Megawati's
regime, which took no significant action since Puteh was
implicated during her presidency. Consequently, when the Susilo
administration made its move in its early days, doubts arose as
to whether the arrest was no more than lip service to the
anti-graft drive, to show that it was "serious" about the issue.

As a concrete follow-up to the presidential instruction,
President Susilo also signed a letter of permission on the same
day for the investigation of 14 government officials: six members
of the House of Representatives, four regents, two governors and
two mayors.

Even with such law enforcement measures, public opinion at the
beginning of December indicated that society had not perceived
any significant impact from the law enforcement agenda Susilo
introduced in his campaign.

The working agenda of the justice and human rights ministry in
Susilo's United Indonesia Cabinet was even seen as being similar
to Megawati's Cabinet, with this particular issue featuring only
in discussions. As reported in Kompas on Dec. 3, this skepticism
came from legislators of Susilo's own Democratic Party.

Such conditions certainly cannot be allowed to continue, and
it should be made clear as to when the public can begin to expect
results from the concrete measures the law enforcement apparatus
claims to have taken.

One of the real effects the public wants to see is an in-depth
investigation into the murder of rights campaigner Munir.

To date, activists of non-governmental organization and law
enforcers have agreed not to conduct another autopsy on Munir's
remains and to use the autopsy report sent by the government of
the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, it is unclear as to whether the plan to set up an
independent investigative team to look into Munir's death will be
realized.

When she met with Susilo, Munir's widow Suciwati received some
indications that the president had consented to setting up the
team. Later, however, it was learned that the president had
disapproved of the plan. Taking a unique handle on the situation,
Susilo then denied that he had rejected the plan.

Beyond the establishment of an investigative team, solving
Munir's murder could be a milestone in Susilo's performance in
law enforcement and human rights, if it is conducted in a
transparent and accountable manner to expose the masterminds
behind the crime.

One of the main drawbacks that has been a frequent constraint
on law enforcement is interagency coordination -- or lack
thereof. In the New Order era, a forum of cooperation called
Mahkejapol existed, linking the Supreme Court, justice ministry,
prosecutor's office and the police. At that time, it was believed
that the forum manipulated cases at all levels of the judiciary
so that a suspect, regardless of their being a culprit or a
scapegoat, would be found guilty and be handed down a heavy
sentence. In the early years of the reform era, the forum was
abolished.

Experience has shown, however, that the cooperation applied
through the forum is also needed in this reform period.

The lack of cooperation and coordination between the various
branches of law enforcement has helped many offenders slip
through loopholes in the system, such as in the investigative
process or even in the process of arrest.

It is clear that interagency coordination is required; and in
this reform era, the coordination would obviously be founded on a
different motivation from that of the New Order.

Today, interagency coordination would aim to prevent any
criminal and or violator from evading the law.

For the future, law enforcement requires a firm and consistent
leadership. In terms of the amended 1945 Constitution, the hope
for such leadership can be placed in the President with regard to
his jurisdiction covering the prosecutor's office, the police,
justice and human rights ministry and other government agencies
related to law enforcement; the Supreme Court, for its power over
public courts, military tribunals, religious courts and state
administration courts; and the Constitutional Court.

Outside these official institutions, the mass media and NGOs
should be expected to serve as the fourth and fifth pillars of
democracy and act as a control on government administrations,
particularly in the realm of law enforcement.

Only in this fashion can the law truly be upheld.

The writer is post-graduate program lecturer at the School of
Law, the University of Indonesia.