Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – A coalition of watchdogs on Friday redoubled their calls for the next Attorney General to come from outside the AGO, arguing that only an outsider could fix the problematic legacy of Hendarman Supandji's regime.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to name Hendarman's replacement soon, and a renewed debate has erupted over whether the replacement should be a career prosecutor or an external appointee.
The Coalition of Justice Observers, comprised of groups such as Indonesia Corruption Watch, Transparency International Indonesia and the Indonesian Transparency Society (MTI), argued that the AGO had performed poorly under Hendarman.
"The coalition rejects an Attorney General candidate from within the institution, especially from Hendarman Supandji's regime," TII's Dwipoto Kusumo said.
The coalition said that Hendarman's regime had failed in a number of areas, including the war on corruption, internal reforms, commitments to human rights and transparent financial management within the institution.
It noted that the AGO had acquitted defendants in at least seven high-profile corruption cases, while the status of 40 other corruption cases remained unclear.
ICW stated that 54.82 percent of alleged corruptors were acquitted by courts, and blamed the figure on prosecutors' incompetence in preparing indictments.
Moreover, the coalition pointed out that Hendarman's leadership was also marred by a number of troubled prosecutors, such as Urip Tri Gunawan, who was prosecuted after being caught red-handed taking a $660,000 bribe to halt an AGO investigation into a major embezzlement case.
"There's also espirit de corps in protecting prosecutors implicated in a legal case," the coalition said in a written statement, referring to Cyrus Sinaga's immunity despite his alleged key role in a tax embezzlement case.
The legal watchdogs also pointed out that the AGO under Hendarman had shown weak commitment in human rights cases, exemplified by the unresolved killing of human rights activist Munir and the shooting of university students during the 1998 unrest.
Hendarman was also criticized by the group for the AGO's decision to ban five books deemed as "disturbing public order."
MTI's Jamil Mubarok, said that according to a Supreme Audit Agency report for the first semester of 2009, losses discovered at the AGO stood at Rp 8.15 trillion ($912.8 million), while another Rp 30.19 billion was lost at the Jakarta prosecutor's office. The losses indicated poor financial management under Hendarman, he said.
The coalition said all the various shortcomings and failures were reasons for the AGO to take a new direction.
"All of these were caused by the culture within the AGO itself," said Dimas Prasidi, from the Institute for Assessment and Advocacy of Independent Judiciary (Leip).
"The people from [Hendarman's] period brought little change within the institution, and to change the system it is best to bring someone competent from outside the AGO."
TII's Dwipoto was even more succinct: "We ask the president to consider an Attorney General candidate from outside the AGO."
But the installation of an external chief could face massive resistance. Last month, a group representing more than 8,000 prosecutors united under the Association of Indonesian Prosecutors (PJI) held a press conference in Jakarta to urge President Yudhoyono to choose a career prosecutor.
Hendarman himself has aired hope that the president would choose a career prosecutor, even naming potential candidates – seven deputy attorneys general and one expert coordinator.