Tale of two employees

While the dropping of charges against Djoko S. Tjandra for his involvement in the Bank Bali scandal highlights the inadequacies of the Indonesian judicial system, the experience of two of my organization's former employees, vis-a-vis law enforcement, may provide further insights.

One was a part-time employee who worked for my organization for a little less than one year, before walking away from his post after being confronted about his unprofessional conduct toward another member of staff. The second was a young lady who was robbed after leaving Citibank and, in the process, had her hands mutilated by a machete.

In the first case, the part-time employee actively pursued his rights in the Ministry of Manpower. However, although the Ministry of Manpower's tribunal established that he had lied to greatly exaggerate his salary, the duration of his employment and his status in order to be awarded a considerable amount of severance pay, he was not reprimanded, but instead continued to be treated as a credible plaintiff.

The case eventually went to the Jakarta State Administrative Court. There, quite irregularly, delays on the part of Ministry of Manpower were simply condoned, the judge's often inconsistent procedural orders were never committed to writing, the judge was willing to meet parties in the case privately and without the other parties present and my organization was expected to pay various unofficial court fees. Such practices, I would suggest, turn judicial procedures into a farce and have little to do with achieving justice.

On the other hand, my other employee certainly does have a grievance that needs to be redressed. However, such is her faith in law enforcement and the judicial system in this country that she and her family have not once pressed the police to act to apprehend the criminals who robbed her and mutilated her hands, and nor have they taken the case up with Citibank whose security was clearly lax.

Citibank has been able to take advantage of this situation and cites its global "internal policy" as the reason why it will not give the victim more than a bunch of flowers in compensation, despite being aware that my employee has incurred medical expenses amounting to over Rp 24 million.

While an effective judicial system is a major concern to foreign investors who wish to ensure the capital they commit is protected by enforceable rights, it does, on the other hand, help large foreign corporations to act with relative impunity with regard to breaches of labor, negligence and environmental laws. However, more seriously, because a corrupt judicial system deprives citizens of a proper procedure for redressing grievances, individuals, as resentment builds, are more likely to take the law into their hands. Ultimately, this could cause social discord and instability.

The judiciary in any country carries a very heavy social burden on its shoulders and, consequently, a judge's duty to mete out justice properly is of a higher level than the duty of almost any other state employee. It is only right, therefore, that severe punitive measures should be taken if that duty is abused.

FRANK RICHARDSON

Jakarta