Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Can anyone end a national culture of merchants and brokers for justice? Combating judicial mafia is the mandate of the government's special task force expected to start work next week.
Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said Saturday the task force would be authorized to "correct, evaluate and investigate" alleged judicial mafia practices.
Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, the head of the Presidential Work Unit for Development Monitoring and Control, has been tasked with coordinating the formation of the team, Julian said.
Despite criticism from certain quarters, Kuntoro gained international recognition following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Aceh and North Sumatra when he led the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency.
"The task force will process public reports and announce its actions. It is expected to quickly follow up reports (of alleged court mafia practices)," Julian told The Jakarta Post.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has pushed fighting the judicial mafia to the top of his to-do list, ordered the establishment of the task force.
The President had announced his intention of setting up the task force when commenting on the findings and recommendations from his fact-finding team, set up to investigate the ongoing scandal regarding the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Prioritizing the war against the court mafia "in all law enforcement institutions" was one of the fact-finding team's recommendations as the practices "had destroyed law enforcement" in the country, the team's report concluded.
Investigations into the KPK case hinted at "fabrication" and the low professionalism and conflicts of interest of law enforcers, the team said.
Its report said combating the brokers of justice should start with Anggodo Widjojo and Ari Muladi, the main brokers in the KPK case.
The task force must consist of people with unblemished credentials, which is why experts are involved in its establishment, Julian said.
To prevent possible conflict of interest, it would probably not represent all law enforcement institutions, he said without elaborating further.
The executive director of Indonesia Court Monitoring (ICM), Tri Wahyu, expressed doubt about the task force's effectiveness, despite its good intentions.
"What is more important is the legal process against Anggodo and his cronies," Wahyu said. Anggodo, a businessman, allegedly conspired with high-ranking police officers and prosecutors to bring down two KPK deputy chairmen.
He remains a free man, while the deputies, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, still face charges of extorting the businessmen they were investigating, including Anggodo's brother.
Anggodo's role was made public through his conversations with law enforcement officials that were wiretapped by the KPK and played in the Constitutional Court on Nov. 3.
"As long as the Bibit-Chandra case remains unresolved and no legal action taken against all those recorded on the tape, we won't be convinced of the effectiveness of this task force," he added.