Tosari denies charges of insulting Supreme Court

JAKARTA (JP): The secretary-general of the United Development Party (PPP), Tosari Widjaya, shrugged off allegations yesterday that he insulted the Supreme Court through a statement he made in a magazine.

Tosari claimed the charges voiced by the Association of Indonesian Lawyers (IPHI) -- based on what he said in a interview with Ummat weekly -- was just a misinterpretation of what he said regarding the party's on-going court case against a dissenting PPP member.

Tosari was quoted by the magazine in its Aug. 11 issue as saying: "The PPP central board won't accept the Supreme Court's ruling if it rules in favor of Rodja. We won't follow the ruling. What rights does the court have anyway?"

Mohammad Rodja is a PPP member who filed a lawsuit against the party's central board for annulling a 1995 decision made during a regional party meeting, which elected Arifin Arbain as chairman of PPP's Jakarta chapter.

Rodja, a supporter of Arifin, insists the decision was legitimate.

The party's central board, however, took a different stance, which led to Rodja filing the lawsuit nearly two years ago.

The Central Jakarta District Court and the Jakarta High Court have ruled in favor of Rodja to proceed with his case.

The courts' ruling is now pending the Supreme Court's ruling, after the party's central board stated that the courts have no right to try the case, since it is an internal party matter and has already been settled under the party's organizational statutes.

Tosari said if he inappropriately expressed his views about the court case, he would apologize.

"I'm not sure if I uttered those exact words, but if I did, then I have to clarify what I said." Tosari told The Jakarta Post.

He said he would never intentionally insult the Supreme Court.

"We wouldn't have appealed to the Supreme Court, if we had intentions of insulting it. We will uphold the law," he said, with a conciliatory tone.

IPHI, through a letter dated Aug. 5, urged Chief Justice Sarwata to take "concrete steps" against Tosari, whom they said insulted one of the country's highest institutions. The letter was signed by its chairman, Yan Juanda, and secretary-general Indra Sahnun Lubis

Tosari said yesterday that he hoped there were no political motives behind the charges brought forward by the association. (aan)