JAKARTA, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- The decision by Indonesia's highest court to overturn a corruption conviction against a powerful politician is seen by many as another blow to the country's already-tarnished legal system.
The Supreme Court's controversial decision Thursday to acquit Parliament Speaker Akbar Tandjung of a corruption conviction, overturning two lower courts, paves the way for him to run for the presidency.
"... We find ... the defendant Akbar Tandjung ... not guilty of corruption charges," Judge Paulus Lotulong said in a final verdict, adding that by law Tandjung's name be "rehabilitated."
The ruling in favor of Tandjung, who also leads the powerful Golkar party, sparked criticism from legal experts and political analysts.
"This is a shameful verdict," said Andi Asrun, of Indonesia's Judicial Watch, a non-governmental organization.
"There is no courage among the judges at the Supreme Court to fight corruption," he told United Press International.
A number of high-profile corruption cases have been launched against government officials, businessmen and judges as well as prosecutors and lawmakers, but most have been dropped due to a lack of evidence. Those who have been convicted have received lenient sentences.
Asrun said "high-level" political pressure or collusion was behind Tandjung's acquittal.
Political analysts said the court's decision will trigger a decisive change in Golkar, which is organizing a convention to select a presidential candidate for the July 5 elections. Golkar was the main political vehicle for the deposed President Suharto during his 32 years in tenure.
One of seven contestants in the party's race to become a presidential candidate announced he was quitting the race Friday.
"My main reason (for pulling out) is the acquittal of Akbar Tandjung," said Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, Indonesia's most respected sultan of Yogyakarta. "For me, moral principles are the foundation of law."
The court's ruling will pave the way for Tandjung to stand as the party's presidential candidate in Indonesia's first direct presidential elections. Political analysts said the acquittal would allow Tandjung to consolidate his position and win his party's support.
At the same time, the court's decision will dampen the presidential prospects of former armed forces chief Wiranto.
Wiranto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name and has been charged by a U.N. Human Rights Court in East Timor with crimes against humanity, is seeking Golkar's nomination and has been campaigning on an anti-corruption platform aimed at both incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Tandjung.
"Golkar's convention is practically over and Tandjung will become its presidential candidate," noted political analyst J. Kristiadi of the Center of Strategic and International Studies said.
If Tandjung, who has been in active in the Golkar youth organization since university, wins the convention, there is no doubt he will become a most serious challenger to incumbent Megawati, the daughter of Indonesia's founding father, Sukarno. Recent polls show Golkar may emerge the largest party in parliamentary elections.
Other analysts said the verdict could also be used by Megawati, who runs the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), to strike a political deal through a coalition with Tandjung in the upcoming elections because her own party's popularity is waning.
In September 2002, a Jakarta district court found Tandjung guilty of embezzling $4.5 million in state funds allocated for public food assistance to the poor; he was sentenced to three years in prison. In January 2003, the Jakarta High Court upheld the guilty verdict for Tandjung, who remained free and has continued to hold his job as speaker of the House. Indonesia enacted an anti-corruption law in 1999 that provides for a minimum sentence of three years in prison and a maximum sentence of death for those convicted.
But the Supreme Court argued in its verdict that the lower courts' decision was based on "very weak legal evidence."
A survey released recently by the Berlin-based Transparency International group named Indonesia the second-most corrupt country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations after Myanmar, the former Burma. It was ranked third in Asia after Bangladesh and the former Burma. Globally, Indonesia and Kenya were tied for sixth place.
"Today is a sad day for this country," said Todung Mulya Lubis, a noted a noted corporate lawyer, expressing his disappointment over the court's ruling. "The Supreme Court has failed to respond to the public sense of justice in deciding this case."
Other legal activists shared Lubis' views, saying the acquittal only tarnished the already-marred image of the country's judiciary.
"This is a miscarriage of justice," said Antonius Sujata, chairman of the Ombudsman Commission. "This decision will make the public lose their confidence in the judicial system and the government's efforts to fight corruption."
But political analysts warned the verdict could sparks further rallies, including student demonstrations.
"It (the verdict) hurts people's sense of justice," said political analyst Mochtar Prabotinggi. "In order to solve the problems of the nation, we can no longer rely on the legal process. It has been proven that laws are only used as a tool for political power."
