Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – The tardy selection processes of public officials in several crucial state commissions and agencies are, according to a group of NGOs, proof of the government's negligence in judicial supervision efforts.
The director of the Indonesia Legal Roundtable, Asep Rahmat Fajar, on Sunday said the government had repeatedly shown carelessness in selecting public officials.
The organization is one of 10 NGOs that have set up a Judiciary Watchdog Coalition. Other groups include the Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Transparency International Indonesia (TII), the National Consortium for Legal Reform (KRHN) and Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW).
In a statement received by The Jakarta Post the watchdog said it "has given the President [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] a second letter of warning for the government's negligence in selecting public officials".
Jamil Mubarak from the Indonesian Society for Transparency said the first warning letter was sent to the President in early July. "We reminded him that Aug. 2 would be the day the Judicial Commission dies," he told the Post.
The late selection of new commissioners for the Judicial Commission has put the institution, which is in charge of monitoring judges, in jeopardy amid threats of a power vacuum due to the imminent end of tenure of its current commissioners.
The 2004 Judicial Commission Law stipulates that the selection period be limited to six months. The watchdog said the government was late in setting up selection committee in April this year.
"We urged the President to use his powers to have seven new Judicial Commission members inducted, but we were ignored," he added.
The watchdog said the government had committed other "sins". The process of selecting seven commissioners to the Attorney General's Office Commission has also dragged on, leaving empty seats at both 4-year-old institutions.
The AGO commission was established to be at the front line of attorney monitoring. But a selection committee for the new commissioners was only formed several days before the tenure of the previous ones ended in March 16.
The Judiciary Watchdog Coalition also pointed out the government had failed to fulfill the mandate of the 2006 Witnesses and Victim Protection Law, which stipulates the establishment of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) within a year of the law being enacted.
LPSK officials were eventually sworn in August 2008. The watchdog said the delay was a result of, among others, budget problems for the selection process.
The National Ombudsman Commission is facing a problem similar to the LPSK. The commission is responsible for supervising public services conducted by state and private institutions, and offers recommendations to institutions that receive complaints.
The commission has now been issued greater authority with the passing of the 2008 Ombudsman Law, which allows it to impose administrative sanctions on institutions that ignore its recommendations.
The law gives the government one year to acquire new commission members. A presidential regulation was issued in 2008 on the establishment of the selection committee, just days late of the deadline. The committee, chaired by Administrative Reforms Minister E.E. Mangindaan, only opened candidate registrations on July 19.