Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Sixty-five percent of people in a recent survey think the government was wrong in abandoning its prosecution of former president Soeharto for graft.
The poll of 438 people in Jakarta, released by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) here Thursday, said 65 of those questioned thought the Attorney General's Office was acting unfairly when it dropped the state's criminal case.
The survey was conducted in the city over four days from May 17-21, a few days after Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh announced the AGO's decision. It used a random sampling method.
A similar percentage said the government should have the final say whether Soeharto should be pardoned if a court found him guilty of graft.
"Most respondents want the state to continue due process against Soeharto to enforce the principle of equality before the law," LSI director Denny JA said.
Circle executive Denny Indrayana said the support for a possible government pardon of Soeharto, should he be found guilty, reflected the people's uncertainty about Soeharto's health at the time the survey was held.
Soeharto, who turns 85 on May 8, was discharged from the Pertamina Hospital on Wednesday after almost a month of medical care. After an initial operation to remove a 40-cm section of his colon, Soeharto had two more rounds of surgery to stop internal bleeding. At times, doctors said his condition was critical but he has since made a steady recovery.
"What has come as a surprise is that 63.9 percent of the respondents praised Soeharto's leadership, especially the way he developed the nation's economy," Indrayana said.
Most people in the sample said the economy under Soeharto was better than under the current administration, Indrayana said.
"Only 17.9 percent of the respondents thought Soeharto had failed in leading the country and only 5 percent of them blame him for the country's setbacks," Denny said.
The LSI proposed the government issue a decree to allow Soeharto to be tried in absentia.
"If the court declares Soeharto innocent of graft, the state should rehabilitate his name. But if he is found guilty, the government can always pardon him," Denny said.
In 2000, a team of doctors ruled Soeharto had suffered permanent brain damage after a series of mild strokes, and was unfit to stand trial for graft charges worth about US$569 million because he could not follow a line of questioning.
Since then, successive governments have been reluctant to reexamine the leader or restart proceedings.