Jakarta – Much-needed reform at the Attorney General's Office (AGO) is being held off by a reciprocating culture of nepotism and corruption that has bled into the institute's recruitment and promotion procedures, fostering an anti-outsider sentiment that serves the interests of a select few, former prosecutors say.

Former AGO prosecutor and spokesperson Suhandoyo said the institution did not implement its well drawn up recruitment and promotion policies.

"In practice, people sometimes 'slip in' names of promotion candidates, even though these candidates are not of sufficient rank for the new position," he said. It is common for AGO staff to rely on friendship and manipulation to secure promotion from their superiors, he said, adding that similar antics plagued the recruitment process.

"That's why there are many 'brokers', both insiders and outsiders, working through the employee review department," he said. He said it was even possible for AGO workers to bribe their way to a promotion.

Former prosecutor and Attorney General's Commission chief Amir Hasan Ketaren said the AGO did not have comprehensive information about prosecutors' career track records in its employee database.

"There is minimal transparency for prosecutors' track records," he told The Jakarta Post. The database lacks information about prosecutors' work performance, including critical data relating to case win/loss records and history of disciplinary action, he said.

"The records only state the positions the prosecutor has held, but no details are included," he said, adding that the commission had urged the AGO to improve its employee database.

Asep Rahmat Fajar from the Indonesian Legal Roundtable said corruption within the AGO was behind the agency's resistance to being led by an outsider.

The President has the prerogative to choose a career or non-career prosecutor to be the next attorney general but prosecutors at the office have openly declared they would resist rule by an outsider.

"Promotions and transfers based on like and dislike can be advantageous at times for certain people," he said. "The presence of outsiders will give rise to a process of improvements, which will disrupt this culture which has benefited a few."

Public pressure for meaningful reform at the AGO has swelled of late following several recent high-profile bribery scandals that have implicated prosecutors as case brokers. (gzl)