M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – After dropping its indictment of former president Soeharto on criminal charges, the Attorney General's Office decided on Monday to build a series of civil cases against the former strongman.
Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh told a House of Representatives (DPR) session the AGO was drawing up civil cases against Soeharto to hold him accountable for past policies that had caused the states to lose trillions of rupiah.
"We have prepared civil charges against him (former president Soeharto)," Abdul Rahman told members of the House Commission III on legal affairs and human rights.
He said the cases would focus on the abuse of Soeharto's numerous cash-rich government foundations.
The AGO's decision was made only days after it dropped all criminal graft charges against Soeharto because it said the former president was too ill to stand trial.
Eight NGOs, including the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI), the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) have challenged the decision by filing a suit against the Attorney General at the South Jakarta District Court.
Abdul Rahman's latest decision to take civil action against the former president also drew criticism from legislators. A number of Commission III members said that the move would only confound efforts to prosecute Soeharto.
House member Gayus Lumbuun of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said any civil cases brought against the leader could easily be challenged by Soeharto's many highly paid defense lawyers.
"The bulk of Soeharto's policies that were biased toward his family and cronies were made when he was a state official and he, therefore, could be subject to corruption charges. "(This means) they will be beyond the jurisdiction of the civil courts," Gayus told the hearing.
During his final decade in power, Soeharto created several policies that ended up directly enriching his children and business friends.
Soeharto's favorite son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra was given a license to import thousands of duty- and tax-free South Korean-manufactured cars under the guise of a national car policy. Tommy was also given monopoly rights in the clove trade, a decision which caused considerable damage to the sector.
Lawmaker Bambang Sadono of the Golkar Party suggested the AGO go after those high-profile policies rather than alleged irregularities involving Soeharto's foundations.