Subversive law needs to be reviewed: Officials

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman says the present anti-subversive law should be reviewed in light of the more sophisticated techniques being employed by criminals.

"The improvement of criminal methods using the latest technologies and the increase in transnational crime will require a better anti-subversive law," he said yesterday.

Speaking to reporters after signing a memorandum of understanding between the Indonesian Minister of Justice and his counterpart from the Netherlands, Winnifred Sugdrager, Oetojo said that such a course of action was urgent.

Attorney General Singgih shared the opinion, saying earlier in the day that the preamble of the law needs to be rewritten.

Both Oetojo and Singgih also agreed that a number of other laws need reviewing.

"All laws which were enforced more than 20 years ago should be reviewed," Oetojo said. "One of them is the anti-corruption law."

He said corruption was also taking on more sophisticated traits and that the penalty stipulated in the law is no longer relevant.

Oetojo added that the government needs to prepare a bill on the retrieval of state assets lost to corrupt officials, while Singgih suggested that all laws inherited from the Dutch colonial era be reviewed.

Meanwhile, the director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan, said earlier that amendments need to be made to the laws on political matters, the presidential decrees for the screening and stigmatization of former political prisoners and the information ministry's decree requiring newspapers to have a publishing license.

Legal review is strongly supported by the National Commission on Human Rights.

The Commission and a number of non-governmental organizations are currently conducting an inventory of the existing laws which are considered contradictory to human rights.

The Commission's secretary-general, Baharuddin Lopa, said last week that it had made a list of priority law reviews. "At the top of the priority list is the anti-subversive law," he said.

Meanwhile, Winnifred Sugdrager said that the recently-signed MOU will allow Indonesia and the Netherlands to cooperate in legal matters through exchanges of information, views, and experiences in the legal field.

"We can hold joint-programs on academic activities, law studies, as well as exchange information and experiences with law reform," she said in her speech.

She stressed the growing significance of environmental law.

"We can share views and experiences in training for police investigators, prosecutors and judges, regarding environmental matters," she said.

Sugdrager expressed her appreciation with Indonesia's efforts to review its laws.

Leading a Dutch delegation, Sugdrager has been here for three days to discuss legal issues with Indonesian counterparts.

The Dutch minister, however, denied that extradition was one of the major topics during their stay.

"It could be an important subject to discuss, but we concentrated more on exchanges of legal matters," she said.

"We have received no requests from the Indonesian government to extradite Indonesians living in my country." (imn)