Rangga Prakoso – An antigraft coalition hit a roadblock on Tuesday in its legal bid to revive an investigation of lawmakers accused of tampering with the 2009 Health Law.
The Coalition Against Corruption of the Anti-Tobacco Clause (Kakar) alleges that shortly after the amended health law was passed in 2009, a clause classifying tobacco as an addictive substance was omitted from the final draft.
After the police stopped looking into the case, the coalition filed a motion on Monday with the South Jakarta District Court to revive the investigation. On Tuesday, however, the court rejected the coalition's pretrial lawsuit because it failed to meet legal requirements.
"The motion to file the suit did not meet formal requirements," said Yonisman, the chair of the panel of judges. "As a consequence, further considerations for the motion will not be deliberated or accepted."
He said only certain parties could legally file a motion against a decision to drop an investigation, including investigators, prosecutors and third-party stakeholders such as victims or NGOs.
Kakar chief Hakim Sorimuda Pohan did not qualify because he filed the suit in a private capacity as an obstetrician.
After the hearing, Hakim said he was disappointed but would not appeal. Instead, he said he would file a new lawsuit through an NGO, perhaps working with the Tobacco Control Support Center.
He said he was certain that the judges would rule in his favor and order the police to reopen their investigation. "The facts from the hearing are clear," he said. "Witnesses have indicated that criminal acts may have taken place."
Hakim cited as evidence three handwritten notes that read, "Change: Article 113, Clause 2 to be dropped, Clause 3 to become Clause 2." The notes were signed by Ribka Tjiptaning, the chairwoman of the House of Representatives' health oversight commission, fellow legislators Aisyah Salekan and Maryani Baramuli and Faiq Bahfen, a Health Ministry official.
Hakim said reviews to the bill were discussed by the House's special and working committees, "so the signatures pretty much authorized the changes."
National Police spokesman Yusmar Latief lauded the court's ruling, stressing that the decision to halt the investigation into the missing clause was above board.