Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Calls for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to sack the National Police chief and the attorney general have intensified, with threats of a "people power" backlash hanging in the air.
New groups adding their weight to the campaign to have police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri and Attorney General Hendarman Supandji fired include the leadership of the House of Regional Representatives (DPD), civil society groups and political analysts.
They stressed the move was needed to force the dropping of bribery and abuse of power charges against suspended Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah.
DPD Speaker Irman Gusman asked the President to take "wise action" in responding to the public outcry, while Deputy Speaker Laode Ida was more explicit in urging that Bambang and Hendarman be canned.
Transparency International Indonesia (TII) secretary-general Teten Masduki said Yudhoyono would be fully within his constitutionally granted rights to dismiss the two officials because both were technically his subordinates.
"Yudhoyono's commitment to the war on the corrupt judiciary will be questioned by the public unless Bambang and Hendarman are fired," he said. "Their dismissals will pave the way for law enforcers to drop the prosecution of Bibit and Chandra."
Responding to the recommendations from his fact-finding team into the fiasco, Yudhoyono said Wednesday he refused to be rushed on a decision, adding he would announce his decision on Monday.
In the team's final report, submitted Tuesday, it recommended the cases against Bibit and Chandra be dropped for lack of evidence, and that strict action be taken against officials implicated in the alleged plot to frame the two antigraft commission deputies.
It also recommended wide-reaching reforms in the police force and the Attorney General's Office.
Teten said if Yudhoyono chose to ignore the recommendations, it would ignite public anger toward the police and the AGO, and could even raise questions about the President's possible involvement in the issue.
Rusdi Marpaung, director of human rights NGO Imparsial, said a decision to implement the recommendations would show great leadership on Yudhoyono's part.
"The President must also press charges against those who abused his name in the case," he said. "Failure to do so would only paint him as inconsistent, which could threaten his presidency."
Human rights activist Usman Hamid added Yudhoyono should stop using the excuse of abiding by due legal process to keep from acting on the recommendations.
"Our reputation on the global stage is at stake," he said. "Any failure to follow the recommendations will only humiliate Indonesia as a nation."
Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) political analyst Lili Romli said if Yudhoyono went against his fact-finding team's proposals, the crisis exacerbated by the Bank Century bailout and the alleged framing of former KPK chairman Antasari Azhar could end in a people power movement.
Burhanuddin Muchtadi, from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), said the President should have a sense of crisis, which could be counterproductive unless it was implemented properly. "The end of his first 100 days in office could also be his last day in power," he said.
However, Fahri Hamzah, deputy chairman of the House of Representatives' law commission, hailed Yudhoyono's decision to follow due legal process in an effort to maintain international confidence in Indonesia.