TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Unfazed by past conflicts, chief Suparman seeks second term
Despite the burden of conflicts that emerged during his tenure, Judicial Commission (KY) chief Suparman Marzuki is undergoing selection in the hope of becoming a commissioner for the second time
Change Size
D
espite the burden of conflicts that emerged during his tenure, Judicial Commission (KY) chief Suparman Marzuki is undergoing selection in the hope of becoming a commissioner for the second time.
Along with other candidates, Suparman, who was recently named a suspect in a defamation case surrounding judge Sarpin Rizaldi, was scrutinized in a public interview on Monday by a government-sanctioned team tasked with selecting new KY commissioners to serve for the next five years.
Suparman told the team that the main cause of the ups and downs between the KY and the Supreme Court was miscommunication.
'Miscommunication often occurred because we have no spokesperson,' he said, and later cited successful cooperation in conducting training for judges as an example of the two institutions' good relations.
Selection committee head Harkristuti Harkrisnowo said the team decided to proceed with assessing Suparman.
'Of course it [Suparman's suspect status] will later be taken into consideration in our assessment. But, for now, we are proceeding with the interview,' she said.
Arguing that it might help the selection team to decide on Suparman's fate, team member Ahmad Fikri Assegaf asked Suparman to tell the team about his case. The team later held an additional closed-door session for Suparman as he requested journalists not to publish it.
Suparman refused to comment on whether his case would hinder him as the incumbent in the race, saying 'I'm leaving it to the selection team. I'm not in a position to comment further'.
Established in 2005, the KY is tasked with monitoring courts and judges' decisions, in order to balance the authority of the judiciary.
As stipulated in the 2011 Judicial Commission Law, the commission has authority to nominate judges, including Supreme Court justices, and ad hoc judge candidates to the House of Representatives.
The committee also verifies various input from the public, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK), on candidates' wealth and political affiliations.
The case surrounding Sarpin started when Suparman and another commissioner, Taufiqurrohman Syahuri, criticized the judge's verdict in the pretrial case of Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, in which he annulled the police general's criminal allegations.
Like many others who consider that Sarpin acted beyond his authority in the case, the commissioners have criticized Sarpin in public and recommended administrative sanctions for the judge's verdict.
Sarpin later reported the case to the police, while the Supreme Court has yet to respond to the KY's
recommendation on Sarpin.
Unlike Suparman, Taufiqurrohman, who is also named a suspect in the Sarpin case, had previously failed in the contest.
Harkristuti was optimistic that the team would be able to net the best seven people who displayed competency, integrity and independency out of 18 candidates in the running.
'Around late August, the results will be submitted to the President,' added Harkristuti, who is a professor of criminal law and also chairs the Human Resources Development Agency at the Law and Human Rights Ministry.
