Chief Justice, Mahfud MD as a resource person in a live program âSuara Andaâ on Metro TV Jakarta along with Fahri Hamzah, the Head of Commission III of the House of Representatives, and Chuck Suryosumpeno, Public Relations Officer of Indonesian Prosecutors Association (Persatuan Jaksa Indonesia), Friday (9/17).
Jakarta, MK Online - Ideally, the Candidate Attorney General-Elect was nominated from career prosecutors or prosecutors from the Corps of the Public Prosecutor’s Office itself. Career prosecutors must still be taken into account, although up to now, they have not shown their courage to make any legal breakthrough. In fact, there is a general assumption that the Attorney General nominated from the Public Prosecutor’s Office tends to be weak and unclean.
“However for now, I think the Attorney General does not have to be nominated from Career Prosecutors. As for me, whether the Attorney General was nominated from career prosecutors or non-career prosecutors, the most important thing is he must have the courage to make legal instigation, not merely clean,” said Chief Justice Mahfud MD as a resource person during a live program “Suara Anda” on Metro TV Jakarta, Friday evening (9/17).
Furthermore, Mahfud said that based on his observation up to now, the Attorney Generals-elect have clean track record, but he doubts their courage to make legal breakthrough. “A leader should be proud if he is able to clean up his organization,” Mahfud added.
With respect to the eight names of Candidate Attorney General proposed by Attorney General Hendarman Supanji, Mahfud considered that these Candidates do not meet the criteria of ‘Law Warrior’ as expected by the public.
“They are pious individual, however they are clean for themselves, but they do not have the courage to make frontal legal breakthrough,” asserted Mahfud who was accompanied by other resource persons, Fahri Hamzah, the Head of Commission III of the House of Representatives, and Chuck Suryosumpeno, Public Relations Officer of Indonesian Prosecutors Association.
However, with respect to the issue of appointment of the new Attorney General to replace Attorney General Hendarman Supanji, Mahfud said that it is basically the prerogative right of the President.
Meanwhile, in the TV program, Fahri Hamzah said that it is better not to look at the technical aspect of the appointment of career prosecutors or non-career prosecutors, but to look at our current position.
“On one hand, the Public Prosecutor’s Office is in the process of making continuous reform and improvement to its bureaucracy, structure and also welfare,” Fahri added.
But on the other hand, Fahri did not deny that there is a public assumption that the performance of the Public Prosecutor’s Office has not changed and is still bound by old practices, hence raising public doubt.
“Therefore, there is a conflict of interest between the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the public. In fact, public call for prosecutors to become the commanders or law enforcers of this country has mounted,” Fahri said.
While another resource person, Chuck Suryosumpeno said that aspirations from the members of Indonesian Union of Prosecutors (prosecutors at the regional level) so indicate that the President should appoint the Attorney General from the internal circle. “We will forward such aspirations to the President,” he said. (Nano Tresna A.)
Saturday, September 18, 2010 | 11:44 WIB 355