Muhammad Abdul Rachman had some trouble uttering his oath of office as he was sworn in as attorney general last week. His voice tripped up a bit on the words "I will act honestly". Fortunately, with a little coaxing from President Megawati Sukarnoputri the words finally came out.
Work honestly. That is what the Indonesian public is demanding of the former junior attorney general for general crimes. It is no secret in Indonesia's corridors of power that the Attorney General's Office is one of the most corrupt institutions in this remarkably corrupt country. And to be fair, the 59-year-old Rachman does not enjoy the glistening reputation of his predecessor, the late Baharuddin Lopa. Aged 59 and born in Madura, there are those who still question Rachman's commitment to fighting corruption and upholding the rule of law.
Rachman's appointment did not get the rousing applause that Lopa's did a few weeks ago, just before his untimely death in Saudi Arabia. In fact, many keen watchers of the Indonesian legal scene were rather disappointed to see Rachman take over.
"He is the most conservative element in investigating cases of human rights abuses," said Munir, the outspoken lawyer behind the leading human rights lobby Kontras. Teten Masduki, coordinator of Indonesian Corruption Watch, also expressed doubts about Rachman's ability to stamp out corruption. But Asmara Nababan, secretary general of the National Human Rights Commission, was cooler in his criticism. "He is not exceedingly ugly," Asmara said. Or, as one source close to Mega put it, considering the available stock of career prosecutors in the larder, Rachman was the least ugly choice available.
Previously, many hoped that a figure from outside the prosecution service would get the job. They had two favorite candidates. The first was Achmad Ali, appointed by Lopa as his special advisor on major cases. Vice President Hamzah Haz gave Mega his name. Achmad was clean and tough and a lecturer from the law faculty of Hasanuddin University in Makassar, like Lopa. Something in the mold of the giant-slayer. There were no doubts whatsoever about Achmad's integrity. He told his close friends that if he got the job he would clean out the Attorney General's Office and all the senior prosecutors within it. He planned drastic measures – replacing all and sundry in the main posts within the so-called Round Building once he got there. He was determined to get corruption suspect Nurdin Halid into a cell soon. Nurdin is a suspect in one major ongoing corruption case, concerning the Indonesian Distribution Cooperative. Like Lopa, Achmad led a simple private life. He does not even own his own car. When he was in Jakarta in the last few weeks, his close friends even had to give him donations to make sure he could stay in a decent hotel.
The other name was Suripto, former secretary general of the forestry department. Suripto was stubborn indeed when it came to hunting down big-time corruption cases in his own field. Suharto cronies Bob Hasan and Prajogo Pangestu and the former president's son Tommy Suharto all felt the sting of his work. His name was put forward by the Justice Party, a small Muslim-oriented party.
In the end both names were flung away by Mega. According to two leading figures in her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), right from the start the president was looking for a candidate from within the AGO. The reason? She did not want to infringe the existing regulations.
Chaerul Imam, former director of corruption crimes at the AGO, says the existing law stresses that the attorney general is not a poltiical position that can be filled from outside. This is not set out in law number five of 1991, the law which governs the prosecution service in general. It is actually contained in the clarification of law number 43 of 1999, which sets out the main points of official service. Under this the attorney general, as the leader of a non-departmental government institution, is considered a career post.
Bearing that in mind, said the two PDI-P sources, there were only four names which made it onto Mega's shortlist. First in line was deputy attorney general Soeparman, who acted as interim attorney general after Lopa's death. But for some reason, Soeparman appeared reluctant to take it on full-time when Mega asked him. She asked twice. After that, his name was crossed off the list.
The second candidate was Harprilleny Bareno, former head of the West Java state prosecutors office. Ellen, as she is known, is none other than an old school friend of Mega's. According to a former senior official at the AGO, they tried to find a way to get Ellen into the post. But the preparations would have been too difficult and would have taken months. To qualify for the top spot, Ellen had to be promoted first to the level of junior attorney general. The plan was to appoint her as secretary junior attorney general for general crimes, then promote her three months later to junior attorney general for general crimes and later attorney general. In the meantime, Soeparman would stay on as interim attorney general. But there was a lot of opposition to this plan, especially within the military. They wanted Rachman. In any case, the long, drawn-out procedure to get her into the post would have caused unhelpful speculation and uncertainty. As a result, Ellen's name was also crossed off the list.
Basrief Arief was another name which was considered, although his was not as strong as the other candidates. The head of the Jakarta regional prosecutors office, a native of Palembang, he is known to be very close to Taufiq Kiemas, Mega's influential husband. Taufiq is also from Palembang. Former attorney general Marzuki Darusman earlier designated Basrief to replace Rachman as junior attorney general for general crimes. But Rachman's name was not just pulled out of a hat. His name was on the lips of politicians close to Taufiq for more than a month. And it apparently reached Mega's ears from Taufiq, who got it from Basrief, himself an old friend of Rachman. The two prosecutors worked together as investigators of human rights abuses in East Timor. Taufiq himself has always denied that he gets involved in deciding strategic posts like this. "I always deliberately go away ahead of important announcements, so that I am not always mixed up with them," he said.
And then there was the general factor, in particular two retired generals, former military commander Wiranto and the head of the State Intelligence Agency A.M. Hendropriyono. According to a former senior official, they came to meet Mega at her official residence on Jalan Teuku Umar on Tuesday last week, only a few hours before the name of the attorney general was announced. At that time they both pressed her to name Rachman as soon as possible. So Rachman was carried, shoulders-high to office. According to some sources, the hope is he will be a shield for the military top brass against various human rights cases that are under investigation by the AGO. The obvious link was made with Wiranto's alleged involvement in the scorched Earth operation in East Timor two years ago. It was carried out by the Indonesian military and their militia allies after East Timor voted for independence and hundreds were killed. Wiranto was military chief and defense minister at the time. In Hendro's case, there is an older issue. He was personally involved in a bloody 1989 attack on the Warsidi Movement in Lampung.
Wiranto has known Rachman for quite a long time. Both of them sat in the Security and Legal System Stabilization Council during the Habibie administration. They had more dealings when Rachman became head of the investigating team into serious human rights abuses in East Timor. At that time Rachman took several steps which are felt to have protected Wiranto, whatever the reasons behind them. He refused to announce the names of generals listed as suspects. And he looked reluctant to touch officers 'with stars on their shoulders'. The direction of his investigation was always limited to the involvement of officers and soldiers in the field. "He was very compromising," said one Tempo source.
Yan Djuanda Saputra, secretary of the legal team defending military and police officers, denies Wiranto had anything to do with Rachman's appointment as attorney general. Yan even said Rachman had taken a tough stance on East Timor. But he did not deny Rachman was close to Wiranto. "That does not mean he immediately would positively support Rachman," he said. He also confirmed a meeting took place between Wiranto, Hendro and Mega some time before the name of the new attorney general was announced. But Yan said the talks were limited to the national security situation. Unfortunately, Wiranto and Hendro themselves could not be reached for comment or confirmation.
Whatever the reasons, after weighing up left and right, Mega chose Rachman. Only two hours before the decision was announced by state secretary Bambang, on Tuesday last week at 9pm, Rachman was called to Jalan Teuku Umar to meet the president. It appears, Mega wanted to make one or two final clarifications. The talks went on one to one. In Mega's hand was a file which contained an intelligence report with Rachman's full background.
Mega asked a number of questions, some about the conditions of the AGO. Then she moved on, onto more delicate ground for Rachman. Mega talked in detail about a number of complaints which had come in about him. Rachman answered one by one, and his answers were judged satisfactory.
After that, Mega gave him three messages. First, Rachman was asked to carry on Lopa's work. Second, Mega guaranteed she would not intervene in the handling of cases. Third, Rachman was repeatedly warned to restore the people's trust in the prosecution service. Rachman promised. If not, Rachman told Mega he would resign from the post.
Then the decision was quickly taken. That night, around 11pm, his appointment as attorney general was announced at the palace. And the next day he swore his oath of office. "I will act honestly."
[Karaniya Dharmasaputra, Andari Karina Anom, Tomi Lebang, Levi Silalahi.]