Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) acknowledged on Friday that it had failed to take the lead in the country's bureaucratic reform and had not performed well in law enforcement. The office could understand why the public had given it the thumbs down.
Attorney General Basrief Arief said he had failed to spearhead reform in his notoriously corrupt institution. The attorney general made the statement during the annual press review at his South Jakarta office.
Over the year, Basrief said, his office had seen 206 prosecutors and 130 administrative staff punished for acts of indiscipline. "It's clear that there are still many prosecutors who commit illicit deeds. We are personally still unsatisfied with our own performance in serving the people," Basrief said.
According to him, of the 206 prosecutors who received punishment, around one third of them were "severely punished" after they were proven to have abused their authority as law-enforcement officials. Among 130 administrative staff who received punishment, dozens were dishonorably discharged because they "had not even gone to their office at all".
Basrief said he could understand why the public regarded the AGO as having performed poorly, specifically citing the AGO's weak human resources as the institution's biggest shortcoming.
"[The AGO's staff] are still weak in terms of moral integrity as well as technical competency in handling cases," said Basrief who vowed to boost the human resources sector in 2012 to restore public trust in his institution.
This year, the AGO has been overwhelmed by many highly controversial cases involving its prosecutors. Last week, Takalar State Prosecutor's Office head Rakhmat Harianto was reported to have allegedly blackmailed a witness for Rp 500 million (US$54,836) in exchange for not making the witness a suspect in a graft case.
In November, investigators from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) confiscated Rp 99.9 million from the Cibinong State Prosecutor Office's parking lot and arrested a prosecutor named Sistoyo for allegedly taking the money as a bribe.
Also in November, Hari Soetopo, a prosecutor at Lamongan State Prosecutor's Office hit the headlines after being reported by a woman for allegedly making her pregnant.
Under Basrief's leadership, the AGO was also condemned by many for its "generosity" in issuing letters ordering a halt to investigations (SP3).
In 2011, the AGO issued SP3 letters in three high-profile cases: the floating crane procurement of PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam, the asset takeover of PT Kiani Kertas and the allegation of abuse of power by South Kalimantan governor Rudi Arifin.
Basrief, however, rejected allegations that there were "backdoor deals" behind the issuance of SP3 letters, saying that the AGO issued the SP3 letters professionally and based on established laws. "[In PT Kiani Kertas' case] there was no state loss, the state actually benefitted," he argued.
Andhi Nirwanto, junior attorney general for special crimes, said that the only reason the AGO issued SP3 letters was because it could not find enough proof to bring the case to court.
"There are many who say that the only job of the AGO's special crimes division is to halt investigations," Andhi said. "But if we don't have the proof and we insist on bringing the case to court, [the accused] will eventually be acquitted."
Despite all its flaws, Basrief claimed that the AGO had successfully prevented Rp 27 trillion (US$2.97 billion) and $2,920 in state losses this year. (sat)