Tomi Soetjipto and Olivia Rondonuwo, Jakarta – Indonesia's Supreme Court quashed parliament speaker Akbar Tandjung's graft conviction on Thursday, clearing the way for him to seek the presidency later this year.
The decision should help Tandjung stay leader of Golkar – once the political vehicle of ousted president Suharto and still the nation's second largest party – and could boost his chances of becoming its presidential candidate.
The five-member court, in a finding read without the defendant present, said his conviction by a lower court and the three-year jail sentence it passed were not justified.
"The defendant is not proven guilty of abusing his position and enriching himself and therefore he should be freed from the conviction against him," judge Paulus Efendi Lotulung said.
Thousands of pro- and anti-Tandjung protesters were outside awaiting the decision. Students in the latter group clashed with club-wielding police, and several students were hurt.
The pro-Tandjung demonstrators ranged from youths in black military-style uniforms to Papuans wearing tribal dress and with their faces painted red and white, Indonesia's national colors.
Tandjung, 58, watching the proceedings on television at home, immediately expressed his gratitude and bent on his knees to kiss the floor of his living room. Family and friends, some joyfully punching the air, surrounded him.
"Praise Allah my appeal has been accepted and I call on all the people to respect this verdict," Tandjung said.
He had consistently maintained his innocence in the case, which involved the alleged misuse of some $4 million in funds from state food agency Bulog in 1999.
The reversal of the conviction brought criticism from some political analysts who feel Indonesia's court system is too soft on corruption, especially when it involves powerful figures.
"I think the legal aspects are overshadowed by the significance politically of a killing blow to credibility of the judicial system," said Wimar Witoelar, a political commentator who advised Abdurrahman Wahid when he was Indonesia's president.
Sidney Jones, Indonesia director for the International Crisis Group think-tank, told Reuters: "It's complicated because on the one hand if they had reinforced the verdict of the lower court it would have been seen as a great victory for independence of the judiciary and a major step forward." "On the other hand, there were a lot of people who believed the whole case was politically built from the beginning." The supreme court said Tandjung was only implementing his duty as a minister as ordered by then president B.J. Habibie.
The lower courts had been wrong to convict Tandjung of misusing his power because the decision to disburse the funds in question had not been taken on Tandjung's authority, the court added.
"Therefore their understanding of misuse of power was inappropriate in this case." While ex-president Suharto is no longer considered a major player in Golkar, it still benefits from the grass-roots structure set up across the sprawling nation during his time.
Many analysts expect it to replace President Megawati Sukarnoputri's PDI-P as the top party in parliament after legislative elections in April, although beating Megawati in the presidential poll later in the year could be tougher.
PDI-P parliament member and research head Jacob Tobing said, however, that there could be a backlash against Golkar.
He told Reuters that, "whatever the decision of the Supreme Court, people have not believed" Tandjung, although he said PDI-P respected the court's ruling.
But political analyst Bachtiar Effendy of the University of Indonesia said: "This decision is politically beneficial for Akbar Tandjung because he is now free from any legal baggage and has more room to maneuver." "All doubts about him due to his legal status are now gone."
[With additional reporting by Telly Nathalia and Darren Whiteside.]