Jakarta – The newly Sworn-in Supreme Court Chief Justice Harifin Tumpa faces an uphill battle against corruption with the nation's top legal institution under investigation for a number of scandals, a watchdog says.
"Fighting corruption at the Supreme Court will be Harifin's main task as the new chief justice," Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Emerson Yantho told a press conference in Jakarta on Sunday.
ICW disclosed the details of several corruption scandals within the Supreme Court based on investigations by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).
The investigations, carried out between 2006 and 2008, revealed that around Rp 20 billion (US$1,800,800) had been embezzled by the Supreme Court.
The money was misused through fabricated budget allocations, such as Rp 1.6 billion for civil servants, Rp 10.2 billion for the Supreme Court case fees, Rp 915 million for the Supreme court chief's health insurance and Rp 540 million for the operational budget.
"We have data stating that more than Rp 31 billion has been allegedly stolen [by the Supreme Court] between 2006 to March 2008, but we believe the figure is higher than that," Emerson said. "The public has the right to know about corruption cases in the Supreme Court," Emerson said.
"Supreme Court justices need to frequently report their finances to an appropriate agency to avoid corruption. At the very least, they should be aiming to submit it twice per year," he said.
ICW's Febri Diansyah further accused the Supreme Court of "protecting corruptors", saying it acquitted 270 corruption suspects of all charges and handed down lenient sentences – mostly under two years – to 133 people charged with corruption between 2005 and 2008.
"The public does not trust the Supreme Court anymore. They need evidence to prove the institution is changing for the best, because currently most corruption cases just go up in smoke," he said.
Febri said while Harifin had promised to fight corruption across Indonesia, so far the results had shown the pledge was nothing more than lip service.
"I think Harifin needs to take serious action to combat corruption. For example, he should warn all judges in the country to hand down heavier sentences to corruptors and not them get away leniently," he said. "He should also punish judges who take bribes from corruption case defenders."
Both Emerson and Febri reprimanded the Supreme Court for their poor performance, saying judges' salaries had increased nearly 300 percent since last April in an attempt to encourage a higher level of professionalism. "If they do not make drastic changes soon, we will ask the government to review its policy on judges' salary again," Febri said.
He urged the Supreme Court to work closely with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to fight corruption.
"Both institutions can work together for better results. We are challenging the Supreme Court, particularly Harifin Tumpa, to show commitment to cutting down corruption within 100 days of his leadership," he said
Harifin, previously Supreme Court Deputy Justice for Non-Judicial Affairs under his predecessor Bagir Manan, was elected the court's chief justice on Jan. 15. Harifin, who will turn 67 on Feb. 23, is the oldest justice at the Supreme Court.
His appointment dashed hopes of reform within the struggling court and led to widespread protests and a call for the age of judges to be reduced. Just weeks prior to his election, Harifin fell down while inaugurating six new justices. (naf)