Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The newly appointed Attorney General M. Prasetyo has a questionable track record when it comes to fighting graft and on top of that the NasDem Party legislator may not be among the best and the brightest that the Attorney General Office (AGO) has to offer.
Prasetyo did not attain his highest achievement until 2005 when he was appointed by then attorney general Abdul Rahman Saleh to junior prosecutor for general crimes (Jampidum). Prasetyo only assumed the post until 2006 as he was required to retire.
During his short stint on the job, Prasetyo was known for creating controversy rather than achieving goals. One noted case was an allegation that he was involved with helping drug dealer Hariono Agus Tjahjono get a lenient sentence.
Hariono, along with Ricky Chandra, was caught by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in West Jakarta for stashing 20 kilograms of crystal meth in 2005. While Ricky was sentenced by the court to life in prison, Hariono only received three years.
The case caused public uproar and critics accused the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office of tampering with evidence and charges in order for Hariono to get a light sentence.
Prasetyo was dragged into the case as he was supposedly responsible for supervising the prosecution in court, considering that the case had gained enormous publicity before it went to trial.
Attorney general Abdul Rahman launched an investigation into the case with Prasetyo repeatedly denying any wrongdoing. He also denied accepting kickbacks and claimed that the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office had never reported the prosecution process to him. Ensuing investigations by the AGO did not find that Prasetyo had a role in the case.
Prasetyo was also in the spotlight for allegedly holding back the execution of terrorist convicts Amrozi, Iman Samudra and Ali Ghufron for their role in the first Bali bombing in 2002, while demanding an immediate execution of Fabianus Tibo, Marinus Riwu and Dominggus da Silva – the perpetrators of the sectarian conflict in Poso, Central Sulawesi.
In his 33 years with the AGO, Prasetyo spent most of his time in human resource management, intelligence analysis, internal supervision and general crime prosecutions.
After retiring from the AGO in 2006, Prasetyo established a law firm and later joined the Nasional Demokrat mass organization in 2011 as member of the advisory council. When the organization was turned into the NasDem Party in 2013, Prasetyo was a member of the party's disciplinary council.
In 2007, Prasetyo applied for a position with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) but failed in the early stages of recruitment.
In October, Prasetyo was inaugurated as legislator after securing votes from the Central Java electorate areas of Demak, Jepara and Kudus.