Vaudine England – The sudden death of Attorney-General Baharuddin Lopa has deprived President Abdurrahman Wahid of not just a close friend but also one of his chief weapons against attempts to impeach him.
Lopa was appointed only last month specifically to pursue high-ranking political figures who are leading the moves to oust Mr Wahid. Widely renowned as a ferociously honest man, Lopa planned to investigate Mr Wahid's friends as well as foes. Those foes would see Lopa's death as a timely reprieve from intense legal scrutiny, a former cabinet minister said yesterday.
But his replacement, Suparman, vowed after a cabinet meeting yesterday not to yield to "any pressure" in probing politically sensitive cases. "I work in the field of law and in the law there's no prejudice. Everybody is equal before the law," he said. The meeting, presided over by Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, began with a brief silence for Lopa.
During his term in office, Lopa had opened files on the alleged corruption of Akbar Tandjung, who leads the Suharto-linked Golkar Party and who chairs the House of Representatives (DPR). Another target was a former trade and investment minister during the Suharto era, Ginandjar Kartasasmita, who is also a deputy chairman of the Peoples' Consultative Assembly (MPR).
A special session of the MPR (which includes the DPR) on August 1 appears set to impeach Mr Wahid. New legal moves against its leaders were widely seen as part of Mr Wahid's bid to keep his job by threatening his opponents into making a deal.
Mr Tandjung said Mr Suparman, who was Lopa's deputy, must continue his late boss' pursuit of alleged embezzlers. "The tasks that have been pioneered by Mr Lopa will surely be continued by [Suparman]. We give our full trust to him," he said. Indonesia had lost "a man with the highest integrity", and Mr Wahid his "staunchest defender", the Speaker added.
Lopa, 66, died of heart failure in Riyadh's al-Hamadi hospital late on Tuesday while on a visit to Saudi Arabia where, until recently, he had been ambassador. President Wahid called on Indonesians to pray for Lopa. "We have lost a figure who has the integrity and commitment to uphold justice," Mr Wahid said, adding that the "rule of law must not vanish with Lopa's death".
Other targets of Lopa's investigations included the business affairs of Arifin Panigoro, leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction in the DPR, which is leading moves to replace Mr Wahid with PDI-P leader Ms Megawati. Mention was also made of possible investigations into the affairs of Ms Megawati's husband, businessman Taufik Kiemas. Lopa also wanted to force former president Suharto to face graft charges in court despite his claims of ill health.
The one shining achievement of the Wahid Government's record on law enforcement was also due to Lopa, who as justice minister jailed former Suharto golf buddy and timber tycoon Mohamad "Bob" Hasan in a high-security jail on Java's south coast.
Many people were "interested in Lopa's demise", said a former cabinet minister who had worked with him. "There are billions of dollars at stake. Lopa was a straight arrow. His approach was to clean up the environment of the top leaders ..." Lopa's death not only takes the heat off the entire corrupt elite in Jakarta but also bodes ill for broader efforts to clean up Indonesia's fundamentally flawed judiciary and law enforcement process.
"I think Wahid's programme of law enforcement will be set back," said Teten Masduki, head of Indonesian Corruption Watch. "There are no other people like Lopa, people who are so clean and so bold." Along with the tragedy for Lopa's wife and seven children, the man most likely to suffer from his death could be Mr Wahid, a Western diplomat said. "Wahid will be feeling pretty unhappy about this. He has placed a lot of emphasis in his talks overseas on the significance of Lopa personally leading the anti-corruption drive," he said.
Added political analyst Arbi Sanit: "With his death, I think the president's legal position dropped quite significantly ... I am afraid that there will be no one like Mr Lopa." Mr Suparman, has been appointed as a temporary replacement but cabinet sources suggest the best candidate would be current Justice and Human Rights minister Marsilam Simandjuntak.
Lopa first made his name at the National Human Rights Commission, which gained credibility during the Suharto period largely due to Lopa's drive.