[Kabar-indonesia] Justice candidate quizzed over text messaging habit

[Joyo at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, November 1, 2006

Justice candidate quizzed over text messaging habit

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.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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