Six accept Supreme Court nominations
JAKARTA (JP): At least six people have accepted the government's offer to nominate them as supreme justices to the Supreme Court.
The six are former judge Benjamin Mangkoedilaga, lawyers Todung Mulya Lubis and Ronggur Hutagalung, constitutional law professor Bagir Manan, legal expert Rizal Kabah and former chairman of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute Abdurrahman Saleh.
"We've contacted them. They accepted the nomination," Minister of Law and Legal Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra said here on Monday.
He said other candidates the government wanted to nominate could not yet be contacted. For example Yogyakarta-based Indonesian Islamic University rector Mahfud MD because he was away on the Haj pilgrimage.
According to Yusril the government planned to nominate a total of 20 candidates to the Supreme Court who are noncareer justices.
"Ten people are legal practitioners and the remaining are legal experts," he added.
Yusril said the government did not nominate former justice minister Muladi as the Golkar Party has already indicated that they would nominate him through the House of Representatives.
But the chairman of the National Awakening Party's (PKB) faction at the House, Taufiqurrahman Saleh, rejected the idea of nominating Muladi, saying that the close B.J. Habibie associate was linked to the past regime.
Furthermore, Taufiqurrahman said it would not be prudent to nominate the legal consultant for military officers alleged to be responsible for human rights abuses in East Timor.
The Supreme Court itself last week submitted a list of 24 candidates to the House, without Benjamin's name.
Several senior justices at the Supreme Court earlier threatened to quit, saying that Benjamin was "too junior".
President Abdurrahman Wahid has repeatedly expressed his intention to nominate Benjamin, who was known for rejecting a ban on the Tempo weekly magazine by the government under former president Soeharto, in a bid to clean and reform the Supreme Court which is considered by many as a fertile breeding ground for corruption and collusion practices. (jun)