Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Achmad Ali, a Makassar law professor and a graft suspect, faced a tough interview for the job of Supreme Court justice Tuesday.
Besides his status as a suspect, Judicial Commission chief Busyro Muqoddas asked Achmad to clarify reports that he had sent text messages to an army general asking for support in the judicial selection process.
""We heard that you promised the general you would help (the military) in human rights cases implicating military officials,"" Busyro asked Achmad.
Achmad admitted to sending messages to the unnamed general. ""He is my friend since we both have the same hobby: karate. This general also has a close link with a top official at a judicial body, whose name I will not disclose,"" he said.
He denied, however, that he had promised anything to the general in return for his support. ""Anybody can easily add anything to forwarded messages,"" he said.
He explained he had sent 17 messages to the general because the general had asked him to clarify his status as a graft suspect. He said he believed the messages were confidential.
Commission member Soekotjo Soeparto asked Achmad about SMS messages he sent to commission members. ""This is one of your messages. What does it mean? Why did you send messages to me while you know that I'm a member of the committee for this selection process?"" he asked Achmad.
""It's just information. And it's supposed to be confidential,"" Achmad replied.
Soekotjo said he was ""uncomfortable"" with the messages. He questioned whether Achmad would do the same thing to lawyers if he were chosen as a justice.
Achmad had said earlier that some people were working against him. He said his being named as a graft suspect was politically motivated.
The Judicial Commission began its two days of interviews Tuesday. This year, for the first time ever, the sessions are open to the public.
Journalists and anti-graft activists came to assess the candidates. Among those attending were Emerson Yuntho of Indonesian Corruption Watch, Firmansyah Arifin of the National Law Reform Consortium and Mohammad Sobary of Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia.
The commission interviewed six candidates Tuesday. Besides Achmad, they were National Law Development Agency chief Abdul Gani Abdullah, Bengkulu High Court chief Ahmad Mukhsin Asyrof, Palu High Court chief Bagus Sugiri, Aminuddin Salle of the University of Hasanuddin and Komariah E. Sapardjaya of the University of Padjajaran.
The commission will see three candidates Wednesday. They are Hatta Ali, director general for the general court at the Supreme Court, lawyer Munir Fuady, and Sanusi Husin of the University of Lampung.
The topics ranged from legal philosophy to simple moral questions. ""I have received a report that as the chief of BPHN you have often used office property. You reportedly used five to seven cars to go to your hometown. Is that true?"" Busyro asked Abdul Gani.
""Well, we had activities in Mataram at the time. That's near my hometown, so why not go there ... we could also check whether the new cars could get there,"" the candidate answered.
The original 120 applicants have been whittled down to nine. Those who pass the interview will be recommended to the House of Representatives for approval.
