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Experts voice concern on appointment of new attorney general
As soon as former NasDem Party lawmaker HM Prasetyo was installed as the countryâs new attorney general, activists and legal experts began voicing their concerns about the future of law enforcement in Indonesia, casting doubt on Prasetyoâs capacity
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s soon as former NasDem Party lawmaker HM Prasetyo was installed as the country's new attorney general, activists and legal experts began voicing their concerns about the future of law enforcement in Indonesia, casting doubt on Prasetyo's capacity.
Head of human rights watchdog the Setara Institute, Hendardi, said on Thursday that the appointment of Prasetyo showed that President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo was still bound by the interests of political parties.
'It is an initial indicator that the eradication of corruption and the judicial process in severe human rights violations will not go anywhere,' he said in a text message.
Hendardi further said that Jokowi's era would be marked by poor performance in law enforcement because the posts of attorney general and law and human rights minister were given to politicians.
Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly is a politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Meanwhile, Miko Susanto Ginting from the Center of Indonesian Legal and Policies Studies (PSHKI) said that Prasetyo's appointment had strengthened public doubt regarding Jokowi's commitment to reforming the Attorney General's Office (AGO).
'As an old figure within the AGO, Prasetyo's track record doesn't show that he succeeded in making any breakthroughs,' he said.
Prasetyo was a junior attorney general for general crime from 2005-2006.
Furthermore, Miko said that Prasetyo's political-party involvement could potentially affect the AGO's independency as a law-enforcement institution.
Immediately after being installed, Prasetyo was given a letter from the NasDem Party discharging him from party membership. The letter was signed at 11 a.m.
Meanwhile, constitutional law expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra declined to comment on Prasetyo's appointment, describing it as the authority and choice of the president.
He, however, encouraged people not to judge Prasetyo rashly. 'Let us see first how his performance is. If he is good, let us support him. If [his performance] is poor, let us critique him,' Yusril said as quoted by kompas.com.
Law expert Refly Harun added that Prasetyo would face the challenge of proving that he could cut his connections with his fellow politicians in order to gain public trust, saying that quitting the NasDem Party was not enough.
'If we are talking about political parties, there are three things: the political party itself, the people within the party and the party's network of acquaintances. We expect that the attorney general can be objective in law enforcement in relation to those parties,' he told kompas.com. (ask/nvn)(++++)
