Supreme Court won't be investigated: Singgih
JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Singgih yesterday rejected demands that his office probe allegations of collusion in the Supreme Court after an internal investigation clearing court members this week failed to impress many people.
"We need strong evidence," Singgih told a hearing with House of Representatives' Commission III on legal affairs during which the question was posed to him.
He did not completely rule out the possibility of an investigation, however. He said that by law, he needed permission from President Soeharto to conduct an investigation if there was a strong case.
Singgih said he needed strong evidence of collusion to initiate any investigation. "If we have that, then there's no stopping us. We'd even chase an imp if you have the evidence," he said metaphorically.
Chief Justice Soerjono on Monday announced the results of the Supreme Court's internal investigation into the way a panel of justices ruled in the Gandhi Seva Loka versus Ram Gulumal case. The investigating team said it found no evidence to support the allegations of collusion or bribery.
Deputy Chief Justice for General Crimes Adi Andojo Soetjipto, who first raised alarm bells, has decried the investigation's report and called for a fresh probe.
Some members of the House's Commission III yesterday urged Singgih to take over the investigation from the Supreme Court.
V.B. Da Costa from the Indonesian Democratic Party faction, said the announcement by Soerjono on Monday was more of "his own contemplation" than the result of a thorough investigation.
Soerjono said the only evidence of collusion that investigators had was an "anonymous" letter that had been sent to Justice Adi's home. None of the 34 people asked by investigators could corroborate the claims in the letter, he said.
The investigation found a "violation of procedure" in the way that the case was assigned to a panel of justices deemed to favor the defendant. The investigators, however, said this did not amount to a collusion.
The panel of justices, led by Samsoedin Abubakar, reversed guilty verdicts meted out by district and high courts and acquitted Ram, the defendant.
Ram had been locked in a legal battle against an association of Indian residents in Jakarta over the management of the billions of rupiah in assets of the Gandhi Memorial School in Jakarta.
Yesterday, more respected figures in the legal community indicated their disapproval of the Supreme Court's investigation results.
"We respect it, but the result is far from satisfactory," Muladi, a law professor and rector of the state-run University of Diponegoro in Semarang, told The Jakarta Post.
Muladi, who also sits in the National Commission on Human Rights, also called for a fresh investigation to thoroughly clear up the matter.
He said this time, the investigation should be conducted by an independent body, possibly the Prosecutors' Office, an ad-hoc committee of the People's Consultative Assembly, or both.
"The President can order both institutions to conduct the investigation," he said.
Ramdlon Naning of the University of Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta said the results of the investigation would discourage anyone who has evidence of collusion in the country's legal system to come forward in the future.
"If the Supreme Court could reject the allegation that was made by the Deputy Chief Justice, who had come forward with such strong evidence, then what chance of success do ordinary people have?" asked Ramdlon, who chairs the Yogyakarta chapter of the Indonesian Bar Association.
Many lawyers who have been complaining about illicit wheeling and dealing involving court judges would also be reluctant to file complaints now, he said.
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation joined in the chorus, calling for a new investigation.
Foundation chairman Bambang Widjojanto said yesterday in a statement that any investigation must be transparent and be followed with legal action. (har/01)