Trifling with the law

The surprising Supreme Court decision on Monday to exonerate businessman Hutomo Mandala Putra, the youngest son of former president Soeharto, of corruption charges has exposed the idiosyncrasies of the Indonesian legal system once again.

This time, however, the ruling has not only touched the public's sense of justice, but it has also left the strong impression that the Supreme Court, as the highest dispenser of justice in this country, is trifling with the law.

As we can recall, it was the Supreme Court that in September last year reversed the lower court's earlier decision to drop all corruption charges against Tommy, as the 39-year old billionaire is popularly called. The Supreme Court then sentenced Tommy to 18 months imprisonment for his role in a US$11 million land scam involving one of his many companies, PT Goro Batara Sakti.

We can also recall that it was this very same Supreme Court that a month later recommended to then president Abdurrahman Wahid to turn down Tommy's request for a pardon. The very act of seeking a presidential pardon in itself was an admission of guilt, and presumably the very last avenue for a legal reprieve.

So when Tommy's lawyers applied for a review of the case with this very same Supreme Court in October 2000, after his request for a presidential pardon had already been refused, the most sensible course of action for the Supreme Court would have been to reject it out of hand. Instead, the court decided to review the case, ignoring the fact that Tommy had admitted his guilt.

On Monday, the Supreme Court dropped the biggest bombshell on the nation's long and hard campaign to reform the legal system and strengthen the court's image: Tommy was not guilty after all.

An ironic twist to this episode of course is that Tommy, who has been a fugitive since November 2000, is the prime suspect of the murder in July of Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, the judge who sentenced Tommy to 18 months imprisonment two years ago. One is left to wonder what really went on in the minds of Syafiuddin's colleagues in the Supreme Court when they reversed his decision and acquitted Tommy of corruption charges this week.

Without going into the question of whether Tommy is guilty or not -- something for judges to decide -- the latest ruling has destroyed what little credibility was left on what is supposed to be the last bastion of justice in this country.

So much has been said about the legal system's failure to defend and protect the rights of the poor and marginalized and its tendency to side with the powerful or moneyed. Tommy's ruling has only further strengthened that reputation.

The worst part is that the Supreme Court is now seen as trifling with the law that it is supposed to administer. No wonder why more and more people, including foreigners and investors, are losing their trust in the country's courts and legal system. If you can't trust the law, then where do people in this country turn to for justice? The answer is very scary.