Yogyakarta legal aid appoints director
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
Chairman of the Executive Board of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI) Bambang Widjojanto swore in Sudi Subakah as the new director of the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Foundation to replace Budi Santoso.
Sudi's inauguration was conducted in a modest ceremony at the Santika Hotel in the city on Tuesday.
Sudi, 36, is not a new face within LBH Yogyakarta. The graduate of the School of Law at Yogyakarta Cokroaminoto University has been with the institute since 1991. He started his career there as a volunteer before he was assigned as the institute's public defender in 1996 and head of the institute's legal aid division in the same year.
"I think he is in the right position and the best choice for LBH Yogyakarta at present," said Budi.
The new chairman, according to Budi, is well known among his fellow lawyers as a straightforward person and a hard worker. "He speaks little but has a very good mastery of the law discipline. I believe he will be able to do his new job well," said Budi.
Budi, who served for two consecutive terms from 1995 through 2001, said he would soon open a legal aid post in Yogyakarta District Court, as part of his pilot project as Head of the Community Service Division of the Indonesian Bar Association (IKADIN) in Yogyakarta.
"I would like to have my own law office someday, but surely not this year," he said.
The legal aid institution was established on March 8, 1981 with Sumarni Basaroddin M. as its first director until 1983. Artidjo Alkotsar, now a Supreme Court justice, directed LBH Yogyakarta in 1983 to 1989 and was replaced by Nur Ismanto who served until 1995.
LBH Yogyakarta is known for its consistent effort in defending the oppressed, especially those whose civil rights are not respected by authorities, including the military. A number of cases that have attracted public attention were, among others, the Kedungombo project, the murder of journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, and the former comfort women or jugun ianfu exploited during the Japanese occupation.
Budi noted that during his term, LBH Yogyakarta received a total of 3501 cases to handle, 1753 of which were settled.
Bambang said the legal aid institution is still facing challenges to have the law appropriately enforced in the provincial regions.
"During the transitional period (1997-present), the law always becomes the weakest point. In fact, the democratization process will never succeed unless the rule of law is firmly upheld. That's why I challenge LBH Yogya to give its contribution, no matter how small it is, so that the rule of the law will be consistently and reliably upheld," he said.