Tempo.Co, Petir Garda B, Jakarta – The Chairperson of the Presidium of the Constitutional and Administrative Law Society (CALS), Bivitri Susanti, assessed that the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) is currently forming a model that is not willing to politically punish former Indonesian presidents.
This can be seen from MPR's efforts to remove President Soeharto's name from MPR Decree Number 11 of 1998 regarding the Clean State Governance and Free from Corruption, Collusion, and Nepotism. However, in a democracy, holding a president accountable for their mistakes is a normal thing.
"We do not hold grudges against Soeharto. Indeed, Soeharto has passed away. Humanly speaking, forgiveness has been granted. But in the realm of constitutional law and administration, political accountability must still exist," said Bivitri during a discussion organized by CALS and monitored via YouTube on Sunday, September 29, 2024.
Bivitri mentioned that writing Soeharto's name is part of the history of the 1998 reform movement. The reform movement mandated that Soeharto be judged for his alleged involvement in corruption, collusion, and nepotism (KKN). This punishment is also carried out because during Soeharto's tenure, many policies harmed the people. Even during Soeharto's era, human rights violations occurred without accountability.
"So the rejection of the removal of Soeharto's name from the MPR Decree is not a matter of personal preferences. It is more about the relationship between the state and its citizens because there were victims of policies," said Bivitri.
Bivitri believes that removing Soeharto's name will turn a pattern of forgiveness into a norm. This is dangerous for Indonesia, which adheres to a democratic system. She is concerned that this pattern will be applied when Jokowi is no longer president. "Without considering the political and constitutional aspects when Jokowi becomes a former president, it would be easy for us to forgive him," she said.
MPR previously removed the name of the Second President of the Republic of Indonesia, Soeharto, from Article 4 in MPR Decree Number 11 of 1998 concerning the mandate to carry out duties cleanly without corruption, collusion, nepotism (KKN). The decision to remove Soeharto's name was announced by MPR Chairman Bambang Soesatyo during the Final Session of the MPR Term 2019-2024 on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
"Regarding the mention of former President Soeharto's name in MPR Decree Number 11/MPR 1998 personally, Mr. Soeharto has been considered resolved as he has passed away," said Bamsoet.
MPR's decision to remove Soeharto's name from Article 4 of MPR 11/1998 is a follow-up action from a letter from the Golkar Faction on September 18, 2024, and was decided at a joint meeting of the MPR on September 23. Article 4 specifically wrote Soeharto's name in regard to combating corruption, collusion, nepotism by state officials.
After stepping down, Soeharto was once named a suspect in the alleged corruption of seven social foundation funds. The seven foundations are Yayasan Dana Sejahtera Mandiri, Yayasan Supersemar, Yayasan Dharma Bhakti Sosial (Dharmais), Yayasan Dana Abadi Karya Bhakti (Dakab), Yayasan Amal Bhakti Muslim Pancasila, Yayasan Dana Gotong Royong Kemanusiaan, and Yayasan Trikora. The Attorney General's Office investigated this case, suspecting a corruption value of Rp1.7 trillion and 419 million US dollars. However, the Attorney General's Office issued a Letter of Decision to Terminate Prosecution (SKP3) in 2006 according to Article 140 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
This article stipulates that the public prosecutor can stop prosecution if there is insufficient evidence, the alleged incident is not a crime, and the case is closed for legal reasons. In addition, Soeharto passed away in 2008. "So (the MPR decree) has been executed, what more grudges should we hold onto," said Bamsoet.