Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said the government was concerned by a recent court ruling in favor of graft convict Agusrin Maryono Najamuddin, saying he would strengthen the legal framework in anticipation of similar cases in the future.
Gamawan said the ruling could be used as a legal precedent by other local administrators to challenge government policy. According to him, there had been cases in which local leaders charged with corruption tried to fight back. But Agusrin's move was unprecedented, he added.
"From now on, the government will be more cautious and strengthen the legal framework," Gamawan told reporters on the sidelines of the third National Coordination Meeting of Regional Inflation Control Teams (TPID) at a hotel in Jakarta on Wednesday.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono dismissed Agusrin from his post as Bengkulu governor after the Supreme Court sentenced the latter in January to four years in prison for corruption. The President also appointed Agusrin's deputy Junaidi Hamsyah as the new governor.
Agusrin, represented by his lawyer Yusril Ihza Mahendra, a former justice and human rights minister, challenged the dismissal and filed a lawsuit against the dismissal.
The Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) on Monday ruled in favor of Agusrin and ordered the government to suspend the inauguration of Junaidi who was due to act as Bengkulu governor until 2015.
The ruling, which was issued only hours before Junaidi was supposed to be inaugurated, ordered the government not to appoint anyone to the post of Bengkulu governor until the case is completely settled.
Gamawan, a former West Sumatra governor, said local administrators who were charged with corruption usually hired high-profile lawyers to appeal their sentences up to the Supreme Court. "But they have never filed their case through the administrative court like Agusrin just did. It could be seen as a new precedent," Gamawan said.
The minister cited Subang Regent Eep Hidayat and Bekasi Mayor Mochtar Mohammad as examples. Eep and Mochtar are currently in prison after the Supreme Court handed them five- and six-year sentences respectively for corruption.
The two disgraced politicians, however, have filed appeals using the case review mechanism (PK), which is the final appeal stage in the Indonesian justice system. A PK can only be filed if new evidence, which has never been presented before judges, is found.
Separately, State Secretary Minister Sudi Silalahi downplayed the court ruling favoring Agusrin.
"This is not about winning or losing, or who is right and who is wrong. And this is definitely not a symbol that our anti-corruption efforts have failed. You have to believe that this country's legal system will never protect corruptors," Sudi said.
"The government has always respected the law. That is why we decided to obey the ruling and not install Junaidi for the time being," Sudi said.
Yusril said he believed the court would rule in favor of his client and order the government to revoke Agusrin's acquittal. "The President's decree is illegal. The 2004 Law on Local Administration stipulates that a local leader can be permanently dismissed only if he or she has been found guilty of a criminal act that carries a five-year minimum punishment," he said.