Attorney general resists outsiders: Lawmaker

Hendarman Supandji

A legislator from the House Commission III on Law on Human Rights has accused Attorney General Hendarman Supandji of spearheading a movement to prevent outsiders from leading the corps.

"The movement must have been backed by someone powerful, and such a figure is certainly the office's highest rank," Golkar Party's Bambang Soesatyo told reporters at the House of Representatives on Friday.

Bambang was commenting on Hendarman’s statement that he would rather be replaced by someone from within the Attorney General’s Office. Later on, around 8,000 prosecutors declared their support for Hendarman's wish.

Hendarman has proposed eight successor candidates to the president, all are career state prosecutors.

Bambang said the AGO resistance to outsiders would only strengthen the public's negative perception towards the law enforcement agency, which has widely been perceived as corrupt.

"The prosecutors have confirmed the public's perception that the AGO is shrouded by dark clouds and mystery, and that it would reject any outside figure who could give the institution a guiding light," he said.