Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesian judges are in the spotlight again, incurring the wrath of corruption watchdogs, for refusing to make their wealth public.

An umbrella body protecting the interests of the judges has lashed out at attempts by the government to release such information. It has argued that this could have a damning effect on the judges' morale and their "ability to pass independent decisions".

Last month, the National Commission to Investigate State Officials' Wealth (KPKPN) reported indications of financial irregularities in the cases of three judges who were involved in the recent bankruptcy case of the insurance company Manulife Indonesia. This followed the decision of the Supreme Court to overturn the bankruptcy ruling given by the judges.

After the report, Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra ordered police investigations into the case.

Supreme Court Justice Toton Suprapto, who heads the Indonesian Judges Association (IKAHI), said the KPKPN was "tendentious" in announcing its findings. He said the commission had acted too soon in concluding and revealing to the public that judges had lied in their wealth reports filed to the commission.

By doing so the KPKPN had influenced public opinion before any proof was produced, he added.

"We object to the way the KPKPN officials announced their findings," he said yesterday. "They give opinions and pass judgments on the reports of the officials' wealth. This violates the principle of being innocent until proven guilty." The IKAHI has written a letter to the KPKPN demanding that the commission keep the records of their wealth from public.

But the judges' demand has drawn much criticism and reinforced suspicions that corruption is rife within the justice system.

The judiciary was in the spotlight last week when the visiting United Nations Special Rapporteur Param Cumaraswamy said that the country's legal system was one of the worst he had seen.

Said the coordinator of Government Watch, a non-governmental organisation, Mr Farid Faqih: "The judges seem pretty desperate. They act like thieves who are about to have their stolen goods discovered." Indeed, a 1999 law stipulates that information of the officials' wealth in the KPKPN are state documents, thus accessible to the public.

Dismissing the charges, the head of the KPKPN's judiciary division, Mr Chairul Imam, told The Straits Times: "We don't pass judgment when we report about an official's wealth, we don't even make conclusions – we simply reveal the data." Referring to the commission's findings that examined the assets of other judges, he said compared to their salaries some of the judges were impossibly rich.

Some claim to have extra income from a side business or from inheritance, but many could not explain their wealth, he said. The KPKPN is preparing to hand over nearly 20 cases involving judges and prosecutors to the police and the prosecutor's office.