Nivell Rayda – Muhammad Amari, who was recently appointed deputy attorney general for special crimes, was criticized on Wednesday by antigraft groups after he promised to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, who was perceived as soft on crime.
Indonesia Corruption Watch expressed its disappointment over Amari's appointment after he promised not to change the system set up by Marwan Effendy, who Amari is replacing.
"By saying that he will just do what [Marwan] has done, it's almost a given that major corruption cases will be handled with little or no transparency at all," ICW deputy chairman Emerson Yuntho said.
Marwan, who was heavily criticized for his handling of corruption cases, has been moved to the Attorney General Office's internal supervision division.
"All I have to do is to carry on the work of my predecessor. The system is in place, and it is running smoothly," said Amari, who was previously the AGO's deputy for intelligence.
Amari is also a former head of the West Java Prosecutor's Office and the West Nusa Tenggara Prosecutor's Office.
"I've handled a lot of corruption cases as well as general ones," he said. "I don't expect to see anything new in my new assignment."
According to the ICW, proceedings for 40 major corruption cases were halted during Marwan's tenure.
"There is an indication that these cases were not handled properly," Emerson said. "Worse, no acceptable reasons were given for the AGO's decision to stop investigating them. "Despite having a new official, we fear that more of these cases will not be pursued."
According to a recent survey by Transparency International Indonesia, the AGO ranks as one of the most corrupt government institutions in the country
Teten Masduki, secretary general of Transparency International Indonesia, said Amari needed to overhaul of the AGO's special crimes division given its poor reputation.
"Amari said the current system in place is ideal? Nothing could be further from the truth," Teten said, citing the way prosecutors handled the highly publicized case of former tax official Gayus Tambunan.
Gayus was originally charged with accepting bribes from private companies and individuals in exchange for favorable decisions at the tax tribunal.
Allegations surfaced that prosecutors and the National Police conspired to build a weaker case against Gayus, including dropping the more serious charges and instead charging the tax official with the relatively minor offense of embezzlement.
According to the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force, officials from the AGO, the police and the Tangerang District Court all received bribes from Gayus.
The judge who presided over Gayus's case was immediately suspended and later arrested on charges of corruption, as were two mid-ranking police officers.
Twelve AGO officials, including senior prosecutors Cyrus Sinaga and Poltak Sitorus, only received administrative penalties.
"It is important for the new deputy on special crimes not only to reopen old corruption cases, but also to impose stricter sanctions on those who have been linked to bribery, including prosecutors," Teten said.