Suspend Ghalib from his duties
I would like to make an appeal to President B.J. Habibie in connection with the Indonesian Corruption Watch report submitted to the military police, in which Attorney General A.M. Ghalib is suspected of having accepted bribes. The latter is indicated by the existence of accounts in the name of A. Muh. Ghalib and his wife, Andi Murniati, at South Jakarta Lippo Bank amounting to approximately Rp 3 billion, plus personal savings totaling Rp 1.8 billion.
a) Submission of the ICW report is true and proper according to Article 1 point 24 of the Criminal Code, since A.M. Ghalib is a lieutenant-general in the Army. The ICW acted on behalf of the community; if it has any knowledge of a criminal act, such as corruption, having been committed, it is duty bound to report such to the government institution concerned.
b) In order to facilitate the investigation of Ghalib, it would be judicious for the President to temporarily suspend Ghalib from his post as attorney general.
c. The coordinating minister of state administrative reforms and development supervision -- who is appointed by the President with the task of supervising and directing all civil servants and state officials as well as recommending to their superiors the sanctions that are to be taken against erring government officials -- is similarly duty bound to investigate Ghalib in his capacity as attorney general.
d. Considering the vital nature of the attorney general's duties in litigating all transgressors of the law, including former president Soeharto and his cronies under People's Consultative Assembly Decree No.Xi/1998, it would be improper to maintain Ghalib in his position of attorney general. Apart from the temporary suspension of Ghalib, another necessary measure to be taken is the appointment of a caretaker attorney general, who must be maintained in this position until the investigation of Ghalib is completed and a legally binding verdict is issued by a court of justice.
Unless those measures are taken by President Habibie, the good name of the President will be jeopardized since he will be seen as incapable of taking the warranted measures against a subordinate. The minister of finance and the director general of taxes should further investigate whether any violation of the tax laws was committed by taxpayer Ghalib.
SUHARSONO HADIKUSUMO
Jakarta