Apa Kabar


Help Wanted!
July 28, 2003, 7:31 pm
Filed under: Politics

Three ambassadorial posts are still vacant. Are the recommendations of the DPR Foreign Affairs Commission binding?

PRESIDENT Megawati should have inaugurated a number of ambassadors last Thursday, but the inauguration had to be delayed until further notice as the president was unable to attend. But there is another explanation for the delay: three of the posts are still vacant. One is the post of ambassador to Australia, which has always been regarded as a prestigious one due to the complex diplomatic relationship between Indonesia and its southern neighbor. (more…)



Help Wanted!
July 28, 2003, 12:31 pm
Filed under: Politics

Three ambassadorial posts are still vacant. Are the recommendations of the DPR Foreign Affairs Commission binding?

PRESIDENT Megawati should have inaugurated a number of ambassadors last Thursday, but the inauguration had to be delayed until further notice as the president was unable to attend. But there is another explanation for the delay: three of the posts are still vacant. One is the post of ambassador to Australia, which has always been regarded as a prestigious one due to the complex diplomatic relationship between Indonesia and its southern neighbor.

The post should have already been filled by Susanto Pudjomartono, ex-chief editor of The Jakarta Post (JP) and ex-executive editor of TEMPO magazine. Last February, Susanto, who has 37 years of experience as a reporter, attended a clarification hearing held by the House of Representatives’ (DPR) Foreign Affairs Commission. He has also attended a “course” on becoming an ambassador held by the Foreign Affairs Department.

It is not only Susanto whose appointment is still pending. There are two more ambassadorial posts which are still vacant: Sweden and Russia. The Department of Foreign Affairs cannot answer with any certainty as to when the three posts will be filled. “The process is underway,” said Marty Natalegawa, Foreign Affairs Department spokesperson.

The continued vacancy of the three positions is due to the DPR Commission on Foreign Affairs not being forthcoming with approvals. The commission recommended to the leaders of the DPR and to the president that Susanto not be posted in Australia.

Why the objection to Susanto’s appointment? Permadi, a commission member from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said that the commission did not reject Susanto’s appointment as an ambassador, but it did not approve of his placement in Australia. Why? “We regard Australia as a strategic country despite its rather hostile attitude to Indonesia,” he said. He explained that the commission recommended that a very experienced ambassador be placed in Australia and that Susanto instead be appointed ambassador to Russia.

The commission also required that an experienced diplomat be stationed in Sweden; the post was originally supposed to be filled by Perwitorini, a director at the Department of Foreign Affairs. The commission believes that the government should appoint an ambassador with certain specialized skills to a country which is regarded as the “home” of the top leader of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). That is, “a person who is experienced in handling issues related to GAM,” said Permadi.

The Russian post was originally intended to be filled by Imron Cotan, presently an interim charge d’affaires at the Indonesian embassy in Australia. But according to Djoko, the commission suggested that Imron be appointed ambassador to Australia. “His performance is excellent and stable; he can reassure the Australian people. Why not appoint him to Australia and keep him there,” said commission member Djoko Susilo. The suggestion means that the Russian post is also vacant.

But the commission’s suggestion seems to be inconsistent with their own prior approach. They previously rejected the nomination of an ambassador who was 50 years old on the grounds that he was “too young.” Imron Cotan is only 48.

Regardless of its quality and consistency, House deliberation is required by Amendment I to the 1945 Constitution. The amendment stipulates that the president, upon the deliberation of the DPR, shall appoint ambassadors to foreign countries. There has been a long debate on whether or not the DPR deliberations are binding on the president, including the deliberations on the placement of the ambassadors who were supposed to be inaugurated last Thursday. According to Burhan D. Magenda, a member of the commission from the Golkar Party, some legislators insisted that the ambassadors be appointed in accordance with government nominations while some insisted that changes be made to the government nominations. Eventually, after a long discussion, the 30 members of the commission agreed to record some “notes” regarding the three ambassadorial posts.

But doesn’t Paragraph 13 Section 1 of Amendment I to the 1945 Constitution stipulate that the DPR only make “deliberations”? “That is euphemistic. Deliberations of the DPR are absolutely binding,” said Djoko. According to Burhan, the dubious nature of Paragraph 13 is responsible for the problems in appointing the ambassadors.

Prior to the present impasse, the government has once before refused to accept the DPR’s deliberations. This happened in February when the president appointed Moh. Irsan as ambassador to Japan, Amin Rianom as ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan, and Hardikun Supandar to Algeria. The DPR had questioned the capability of the appointees. “Commission members were presented with a fait accompli,” said Ibrahim Ambong, who was then chief of the commission. Djoko Susilo hopes that the government will not repeat the mistake. “If Mega goes ahead with her plans, then she will have to face the consequences of her actions,” said Djoko in a threatening tone.

Susanto Pudjomartono has chosen not to comment on the issue. “Please ask the Department of Foreign Affairs,” he said, though the department also has no clear answer. But according to a source close to President Megawati, Susanto will certainly follow in the footsteps of Sabam Siagian, a fellow former chief editor of JP, who once occupied the office at 8 Darwin Avenue, Canberra–the site of the Indonesian Embassy in Australia. “The president knows and trusts him very well and the Canberra posting has been vacant for 18 months,” the source said.

The commission may reject, but the president will make the final decision.

Abdul Manan

TEMPO, JULY 28, 2003-046/P. 24 Heading National



Wabah ‘Recall’ Tiba
July 27, 2003, 12:52 am
Filed under: Politik
PERGANTIAN antar-waktu tampaknya akan jadi wabah di DPR RI dalam waktu dekat ini. Masalahnya, mekanisme mengganti anggota dewan di tengah masa jabatannya ini–bahasa yang dipakai umum adalah recall–sudah mendapatkan pengesahan. Aturan itu menjadi salah satu pasal dalam Undang-Undang tentang Susunan dan Kedudukan MPR, DPD, DPR, dan DPRD, yang disahkan Rabu dua pekan lalu. (more…)



DPR Menolak, Siapa Peduli
July 27, 2003, 12:45 am
Filed under: Politik
Tiga pos duta besar masih kosong. Pertimbangan DPR tidak mengikat?SEDIANYA, Kamis pekan lalu, sejumlah duta besar dilantik Presiden Megawati. Tapi pelantikan itu tertunda karena Presiden berhalangan. Dari info yang masuk, ada yang menarik: tiga pos dubes ternyata masih kosong. Termasuk pos Australia yang selalu menjadi pos prestisius, mengingat “pasang surut” hubungan Jakarta dengan Negeri Kanguru itu. (more…)



Wabah ‘Recall’ Tiba
July 26, 2003, 5:52 pm
Filed under: Politics
PERGANTIAN antar-waktu tampaknya akan jadi wabah di DPR RI dalam waktu dekat ini. Masalahnya, mekanisme mengganti anggota dewan di tengah masa jabatannya ini–bahasa yang dipakai umum adalah recall–sudah mendapatkan pengesahan. Aturan itu menjadi salah satu pasal dalam Undang-Undang tentang Susunan dan Kedudukan MPR, DPD, DPR, dan DPRD, yang disahkan Rabu dua pekan lalu. Bunyi pasal 111 itu: “Ketentuan mengenai penggantian antarwaktu anggota MPR, DPR, DPRD provinsi, dan DPRD kabupaten/kota dinyatakan berlaku sejak undang-undang ini disahkan, kecuali yang berkenaan dengan larangan rangkap jabatan bagi anggota TNI/Polri”. Artinya, setelah undang-undang ini ditandatangani Presiden, atau 30 hari sejak disahkan jika Presiden enggan membubuhkan tanda tangan, ketentuan itu sudah bisa dikenakan kepada anggota DPR dan DPRD.

Wewenang recall itu ada di pucuk pimpinan partai. Ini yang membuat Ketua Perhimpunan Bantuan Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia, Hendardi, khawatir. Ia melihat gelagat buruk, karena seminggu setelah undang-undang itu disahkan, partai politik langsung bergerak membuat daftar anggotanya yang akan di-recall. Menurut Hendardi, ini akan mengulang masa Orde Baru, recalling menjadi alat untuk membungkam sikap kritis wakil rakyat.

Hal ini dibenarkan mantan ketua panitia khusus RUU itu, Yahya Zaini. Ia memang melihat bahwa partai-partai sepertinya tidak sabar menerapkan pasal ini. Apalagi ketentuan pergantiannya sudah berlaku karena diatur UU Nomor 31 Tahun 2002 tentang Partai Politik. Dalam Pasal 12 UU Partai Politik disebutkan, anggota partai yang menjadi anggota lembaga perwakilan rakyat dapat diberhentikan apabila: a. menyatakan mengundurkan diri dari keanggotaan partai politik yang bersangkutan atau menyatakan menjadi anggota partai politik lain; b. diberhentikan dari keanggotaan partai politik yang bersangkutan karena melanggar anggaran dasar dan anggaran rumah tangga; c. melakukan pelanggaran peraturan perundang-undangan yang menyebabkan yang bersangkutan diberhentikan.

Ketua Partai Golkar Akbar Tandjung mengaku akan melakukan evaluasi kinerja anggotanya di lembaga perwakilan setelah pengesahan aturan baru ini. Mereka yang ketahuan tidak beres akan segera ditarik. Siapa saja namanya? Akbar memilih tutup mulut dulu. “Di benak saya memang sudah ada, tapi nantilah,” katanya.

Menurut Yahya, di lingkungan Partai Golkar tidak terlalu banyak anggota fraksi yang di-recall. Tapi jumlah pastinya masih akan dihitung. “Di DPRD Jawa Timur ada kader Partai Golkar yang pindah ke PKB,” kata Yahya. Yang dimaksudnya adalah Cholili Mugi, bekas Ketua Fraksi Partai Golkar yang pindah ke PKB.

Rumor yang beredar, kelompok yang kritis terhadap Akbar juga bakal masuk daftar itu. Tepatnya yang ikut menandatangani petisi agar Akbar nonaktif dari jabatannya sebagai Ketua DPR karena menjadi terdakwa kasus korupsi Bulog. Mereka adalah Marwah Daud Ibrahim, Husni Thamrin, Sarwoko, dan Ariady Ahmad. Namun wakil Sekjen Partai Golkar Rully Chairil Azwar menepis rumor tersebut. “Yang akan kami recall adalah yang benar-benar membahayakan partai,” katanya.

Partai yang paling banyak menyusun daftar recall adalah PDI Perjuangan. Seperti disampaikan Wakil Sekretaris Jenderal PDI Perjuangan, Pramono Anung, partainya segera menerbitkan keputusan pergantian bagi anggota fraksinya di DPR dan DPRD yang pindah ke partai lain. Sebab, menurut Pramono, selama ini mereka tidak bisa diganti karena UU Susunan dan Kedudukan yang lama, No. 4 Tahun 1999, tidak memperbolehkan adanya recalling.

Menurut catatan Pramono, setidaknya ada 21 nama, antar lain Dimyati Hartono (yang kini menjadi Ketua Umum Partai Indonesia Tanah Air Kita), mantan Ketua PDIP DKI Tarmidi Suhardjo yang sudah bergabung ke Partai Pelopor. Selain itu adalah bekas Ketua PDI Perjuangan Surabaya, Mochamad Basuki, yang telah bergabung dengan Partai Nasional Banteng Kemerdekaan. “Namun perlu diingat, kami tidak me-recall anggota fraksi yang vokal, tetapi yang melanggar AD/ART partai,” tutur Pramono.

Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa juga melakukan langkah serupa. Wakil Ketua Umum PKB, Mahfud Md., mengatakan bahwa anggota Fraksi PKB di DPR dan DPRD yang jelas-jelas keluar dari partai atau mendukung PKB Matori Abdul Djalil akan segera diganti. Jumlahnya masih dihitung. “Tetapi yang jelas, misalnya, Abdul Khaliq Ahmad, yang menjadi Sekjen PKB Matori, akan diganti,” kata Mahfud. Selain itu juga anggota Fraksi PKB di DPRD Jawa Tengah, DPRD Lampung, dan DPRD Bengkulu yang mendukung Matori.

Namun Hendardi tak percaya mekanisme recalling ini akan memperbaiki kinerja DPR. Bukan tidak mungkin ini bisa membuat orang takut menyuarakan kepentingan rakyat karena khawatir diganti. “Ini kan kemunduran,” katanya.

Abdul Manan, Cahyo Junaidi

TEMPO Edisi 030727-021/Hal. 38 Rubrik Nasional



DPR Menolak, Siapa Peduli
July 26, 2003, 5:45 pm
Filed under: Politics
Tiga pos duta besar masih kosong. Pertimbangan DPR tidak mengikat?

SEDIANYA, Kamis pekan lalu, sejumlah duta besar dilantik Presiden Megawati. Tapi pelantikan itu tertunda karena Presiden berhalangan. Dari info yang masuk, ada yang menarik: tiga pos dubes ternyata masih kosong. Termasuk pos Australia yang selalu menjadi pos prestisius, mengingat “pasang surut” hubungan Jakarta dengan Negeri Kanguru itu.

Pos itu sedianya ditempati Susanto Pudjomartono, bekas Pemimpin Redaksi The Jakarta Post dan mantan redaktur pelaksana Majalah TEMPO. Akhir Februari lalu Susanto telah mengikuti rapat dengar pendapat umum (clarification hearing) dengan Komisi Hubungan Luar Negeri DPR. Wartawan dengan jam terbang 37 tahun itu sebelumnya telah mengikuti “pendidikan” sebagai calon duta besar di Departemen Luar Negeri.

Bukan Susanto seorang yang tidak masuk daftar. Ada dua pos duta besar lain yang sampai sekarang belum jelas kapan akan diisi, yaitu Swedia dan Rusia. Departemen Luar Negeri juga belum memberikan kepastian tentang pos di Australia, Swedia, dan Rusia itu. “Prosesnya belum selesai,” kata juru bicara Departemen Luar Negeri, Marty Natalegawa.

Agaknya kekosongan tiga pos ini ada kaitannya dengan ketidaksetujuan DPR. Komisi Hubungan Luar Negeri DPR memberikan pertimbangan agar Susanto tidak ditempatkan di Australia. Hasil rapat komisi itu disampaikan ke pimpinan DPR dan diteruskan ke Presiden Megawati. Apa keberatan DPR?

Permadi, anggota Komisi I dari PDI Perjuangan, menjelaskan bahwa Komisi tidak menolak Susanto menjadi duta besar, tapi menolak penempatan Susanto di Australia. Kenapa? “Australia itu kami nilai penting, selain sikapnya yang agak memusuhi Indonesia,” katanya. Ia menambahkan bahwa untuk Australia perlu seorang duta besar yang sangat berpengalaman. Menurut Permadi, Susanto diusulkan Komisi I untuk ditempatkan di Rusia.

Alasan pengalaman itu juga yang dikemukakan DPR untuk pos duta besar di Swedia, yang sedianya ditempati Perwitorini, Direktur Politik di Direktorat Jenderal Multilateral, Politik, Sosial, dan Keamanan Departemen Luar Negeri. Komisi I menganggap, untuk negara yang menjadi “sarang” pucuk pimpinan Gerakan Aceh Merdeka itu, perlu ada duta besar dengan keahlian khusus. Yaitu, “Orang yang berpengalaman menangani masalah yang berhubungan dengan GAM,” kata Permadi.

Adapun pos Rusia semula akan diisi Imron Cotan, kini kuasa usaha ad interim Kedutaan Besar RI di Australia. Namun, menurut Djoko, Komisi I mengusulkan Imron naik pangkat sebagai Duta Besar RI untuk Australia. “Penampilannya hebat, mantap, dan mampu meyakinkan orang Australia. Kenapa tidak Imron saja yang jadi duta besar di sana, biar tidak pindah-pindah,” kata Djoko Susilo anggota Komisi I yang ikut melakukan uji visi dan misi calon duta besar. Ini pula yang membuat pos Rusia pun ikut-ikutan belum terisi.

Usul Komisi I ini terkesan tidak konsisten, karena sebelumnya pernah menolak pencalonan seorang duta besar berusia 50 tahun dengan alasan “terlalu muda”. Imron Cotan saat ini berusia 48 tahun.

Terlepas dari soal mutu dan konsistensinya, pertimbangan DPR memang disyaratkan dalam Amendemen I UUD 45 pada tahun 2001. Presiden atas pertimbangan DPR menempatkan duta besar di negara sahabat. Soal mengikat atau tidaknya pertimbangan itu sempat mengundang perdebatan di Senayan, termasuk penempatan angkatan duta besar yang dilantik pada Kamis pekan lalu. Menurut Burhan D. Magenda, anggota Komisi I dari Fraksi Golkar, ada anggota DPR yang tetap menginginkan agar penempatannya sesuai dengan usul pemerintah. Ada yang berkeras mengubah penempatan pemerintah. Akhirnya, setelah diskusi, 30 anggota Komisi I setuju mengajukan “catatan” untuk tiga pos tadi.

Bukankah Amendemen UUD 1945 Pasal 13 ayat 1 mengatakan bahwa DPR hanya memberikan pertimbangan? “Itu bahasa halusnya. Pertimbangan DPR itu mengikat, tidak sembarangan,” kata Djoko. Menurut Burhan, tidak jelasnya pasal ini pula yang menjadi akar persoalan penempatan duta besar ini.

Sebelum kasus ini, pemerintah pernah menolak pertimbangan DPR. Itu terjadi pada Februari lalu, ketika Presiden melantik Moh. Irsan sebagai duta besar untuk Jepang, Amin Rianom untuk Turki merangkap Azerbaijan, dan Hardikun Supandar untuk Aljazair. Padahal DPR meragukan kemampuan diplomasi ketiganya. “Anggota Komisi menganggap itu fait accompli,” kata Ibrahim Ambong, Ketua Komisi I saat itu. Djoko Susilo berharap pemerintah tidak mengulanginya. “Kalau Mega terus, harus menanggung konsekuensinya,” ujar Djoko dengan nada menggertak.

Susanto Pudjomartono sendiri memilih tak banyak komentar. “Silakan tanya Departemen Luar Negeri saja soal ini,” kata mantan Pemimpin Redaksi The Jakarta Post itu. Departemen yang ditunjuk Susanto itu pun belum punya jawaban pasti. Namun, menurut sebuah sumber yang dekat dengan Presiden Mega, Susanto dipastikan akan tetap mengikuti jejak Sabam Siagian, bekas Pemimpin Redaºksi The Jakarta Post, yang juga pernah berkantor di Darwin Avenue 8, Canberra–kantor Kedutaan RI di Australia. “Ibu kenal dan percaya pada Mas Santo, dan pos Canberra sudah 18 bulan kosong,” katanya.

DPR boleh menolak, tapi Presiden jua yang menentukan.

Abdul Manan

TEMPO Edisi 030727-021/Hal. 41 Rubrik Nasional



Rooting Out the Rotten
July 21, 2003, 8:37 pm
Filed under: Politics

The plan to register civil servants has received a cool response. The survey is meant, among other things, to find fictitious records of public personnel. (more…)



Horse Trading Rules
July 21, 2003, 8:29 pm
Filed under: Politics
Agreement to the Presidential Election Law has prioritized party interests. What about the practices of “trading” in the sensitive articles? (more…)



Holding Hostages
July 21, 2003, 8:28 pm
Filed under: Politik
POLITICIANS are becoming all-powerful. People may soon need to think deep and hard about ignoring a summons from the House of Representatives (DPR). With the DPR’s approval of the Law on the Composition and Structure of the Legislative Assembly (MPR), DPR, Regional Representatives Council (DPD), and Local Legislative Councils (DPRDs) for ratification by the president, last Wednesday, they now have an effective whip called `Holding Hostages.’ This power to hold hostage may be applied to anyone, including government officials, who try to wriggle out of an invitation from the legislature. (more…)



Rooting Out the Rotten
July 21, 2003, 1:37 pm
Filed under: Politics

The plan to register civil servants has received a cool response. The survey is meant, among other things, to find fictitious records of public personnel.

BY 10am the row of 20 office desks has only seven people, some of those present are not busy, they are simply playing computer games. The dull atmosphere continues all day until the office closes at 4pm. “It’s been a routine,” said one employee.

This was the scene at the office of the Bureau of Information, Communications and Public Relations, Central Java regional administration. It was a Thursday, not a holiday. It more or less represents the general situation of government offices in Indonesia, where employees have grown accustomed to missing work and slacking off. The program to reappraise the civil service, carried out from July 1-31, has not changed the “routine”.

Civil servants are well aware of the plan to re-gather personnel data, but they perceive this program as something different from past models of special assessment. “I’ve received the forms. They are only to re-register civil servants rather than evaluate performance. So we’re relaxed,” he said.

Not all civil servants are at ease with this personnel reappraisal, though. Some of them, such those in the regional administration office of East Java, are worried. “Can the government convince us that no rationalization or early retirement will involve employees without fixed job titles?” one employee who requested anonymity asked Adi Mawardi from TEMPO News Room.
In Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, civil servants in uniform sitting idly at coffee stalls around government offices are a common sight. One of these places is the Phoenam coffee shop in the Panakukang Mas zone. Even during working hours, they continue to hang around the café.

Why are civil servants so fond of leaving their desks? Mostly because the amount of work they have to do is indeed small and there are a lot of employees to do it. “There’s no work to do, why should they stay in the office until 4pm? They get bored and uninterested so that it’s natural that they are out,” said an employee on condition of anonymity.

Nunuk Tri Rochani, head of the data processing division of Central Java’s regional employees agency, admitted that the Central Java provincial secretariat was overstaffed. “A lot of employees have no fixed duties,” Nunuk told Sohirin from TEMPO News Room.

This excessive staff, according to Nunuk, is a result of the introduction of regional autonomy and the merger and liquidation of several government offices. Now the provincial secretariat has 20,093 employees, of whom 6,000 came from the central government and some departments that were liquidated recently.

The same is true in North Sumatra. A large number of employees filling different offices are not provided with sufficient work. “This re-registration will reveal which agencies have excessive or unproductive personnel,” Eddy Sofyan, North Sumatra’s provincial spokesman, told TEMPO News Room’s Bambang Soed.

Progo Nurdjaman, Director-General of Public Administration, Department of Home Affairs, said the national program was meant to obtain new data after the many shifts emerging from regional autonomy and the liquidation of several ministries and agencies, and also to assess the rationalization of personnel and their workload.

This second re-registration (the first program was carried out in 1974) is mainly designed to register employees, with the exception of the province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. For the province at the western tip of Indonesia, it has an extra function: making sure that personnel abide by Law No. 43/1999 on Civil Service. “This law stipulates that civil servants are obliged to be loyal to the Pancasila state philosophy, the 1945 Constitution and the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia,” said Nurdjaman.

In order to try to gauge this allegiance the forms for Aceh are slightly different. For other regions, they contain columns to be filled in with current occupation, personal information, the names of family members and relatives, career data, past positions and appointments. In Aceh, data supplement sheets are added for statements of allegiance to the Republic.

This special treatment in Aceh is due to the suspicion that employees there are working for both sides, Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Recently a number of civil servants have been arrested including Marzuki Yahya, a public administration staff member at the Aceh Governor’s Office. The police allege that the 45-year-old donated funds to GAM.

The program is designed to accomplish more than simply re-registering civil servants. According to Nurdjaman, it is also supposed to track down fictitious personnel lists, which cause salaries to be paid out to fictional employees. He acknowledged the existence of such a practice though he had no idea of the exact number of fictitious personnel. Nurdjaman also said that some employees still receive child allowances after their children have died. “Though only small amounts are involved,” he added, “such cases cost the state money.”

Abdul Manan, Ecep Yasa, Syarif Amir

TEMPO, JULY 21, 2003-045/P. 25 Heading National



Horse Trading Rules
July 21, 2003, 1:29 pm
Filed under: Politics
Agreement to the Presidential Election Law has prioritized party interests. What about the practices of “trading” in the sensitive articles?
PERMADI could not hold back his feelings. The member of the House of Representatives (DPR) from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) interrupted the plenary meeting for acceptance of the Law on the Election of Presidents and Vice Presidents, last Monday. He deplored the removal of the condition from the legislation that presidential and vice-presidential candidates may not be the accused in a legal case.
The interruption by this leading figure who is fond of wearing all-black clothing prompted nothing more than a quick response. The meeting’s chair, Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, also from PDI-P, blocked him with a few short words: “That will be discussed later in each faction.” And Permadi dropped his protest. Because, in formal terms, his faction had already accepted the law without reserve.
Outside the chamber, Permadi claimed that he personally still objected to these new measures. “If the law is passed, it means that Sumanto could become president,” he said. The Sumanto he meant was the convicted cannibal whose case recently caused such a commotion. Permadi was surprised: in the province of Lampung alone, Alzier, suspected of criminal deeds, failed to become governor even though he had already won a democratic election. “Don’t let the public come to feel that the local legislation in the provinces is far better than the national,” he added.
The plenary meeting finally proceeded smoothly. However, there was one interruption from Muhaimin from the National Awakening Party (PKB) Faction, who claimed that campaign fund contributions for presidential elections had not been regulated. The rest was extremely smooth. Without much debate and in a time span which could be considered relatively short, Soetardjo rapped his gavel as a sign of the DPR plenary meeting’s acceptance.
All this was thanks to lobbying. The members of the working committee had previously frequently met at the Hotel Santika, Jakarta. That forum discussed the essence of the draft bill before it was agreed. At those meetings there was tough debate over two crucial problems: the required percentage of seats won for political parties that were to be allowed to submit presidential candidates and the requirements for candidacy. Within this there was the issue of the requirement for degree-level tertiary education (S-1), of not facing legal charges, and of being in good physical and mental health.
Because this was so tough, this problem was only resolved after being discussed seven times. This was then continued in marathon meetings which usually lasted from 8pm through to 3am. The grounds for each faction agreeing or not to the two problems were indeed quite complex. Take the example of an accused who may not become a presidential candidate proposed to the government. All factions agreed to that except for the Golkar Party.
The `Banyan tree’ camp used the ruse, borrowing from the legal world, that the basis of innocence until proven guilty must be upheld. So long as the accused’s status was not final under the law, the one affected could not be said to be in the wrong and then have their rights suppressed. “We all went for Golkar over that,” said Amin Said Husni from the PKB Faction. They well understood that this involved Akbar Tandjung, the General Chairman of Golkar, who will apparently step forward at the party’s convention.
On the other hand, Golkar supported the requirement for a minimal bachelor degree level education. This was also supported by the Reform Faction and Crescent Star Party, but rejected by PDI-P. PDI-P claimed that someone’s capability and capacity is not always determined by their education. The proof is that many leaders are successful but do not have degrees. The PKB Faction itself was not fixed on the formal requirement for a bachelor degree, but what was important was that the candidate has an adequate level of intellect.
The requirement that the candidate be physically and mentally healthy proposed by the government was agreed to by all factions except the PKB. “In this area, it was our turn to be turned on by all the others,” quipped Amin Said with a laugh. Everyone knows, PKB has an interest in its candidate, former president Abdurrahman Wahid alias Gus Dur–the Chair of PKB’s Advisory Council–who is apparently insistent he wants another go.
What about the winning of a minimum 20 percent of the vote as the requirement for a party to put up a presidential candidate as in the draft proposal from the government? The parties didn’t buy it. It was only supported by PDI-P and Golkar, the two biggest party winners in the 1999 election. The other factions rejected it. In fact the requirement does have some basis: the strength of the governance must be backed by strength in the legislature. “If the president’s party has only 3 percent of the seats in the legislature, his governance will find it hard to work. Gus Dur’s experience could become a lesson for us,” said Muhammad Akil Mochtar, a member of the special committee from Golkar.
However, don’t think all this tough debate took place in a fiery atmosphere. It was all done while cracking jokes and laughing boisterously. Of course, all the lobbyists knew the direction in which the discussion was headed. If they were talking about the issue of being an accused, the direction was clear. Talking about the degree requirement, that too was also clear. On being of healthy mind and body, there was no doubt. “We just kidded around,” said Amin Said.
After the lobby forum went round and round three times without agreement, the participants finally decided to return to the formulation in the constitution. Article 6 of the 1945 Constitution states that the general requirements for candidates are that they be Indonesian citizens, be mentally and physically capable, and have never betrayed the nation. From that basis, agreement finally did emerge. “Just let the candidates compete fairly. Let’s not have any articles which interfere with one or the other’s chances,” said Amin Said.
The issue which was first agreed on was that of vote percentage. The problem being that the Reform Faction did not want to discuss any other matters if this one was not resolved. The lobby forum finally did agree that, for 2004, the minimum requirement to be met for political parties to put up presidential candidates would be quite unrestrictive: it is sufficient to obtain 3 percent of the seats in the national legislature and 5 percent of the national vote. PAN, which is interested in putting up its general chairperson, Amien Rais, was finally relieved with this.
As soon as the troublesome article, which could have forestalled the latter’s candidacy was removed, the defenses of the Reform Faction, too, collapsed. “They no longer vehemently defended the other requirements which earlier had seemed so ideal,” said Amin Said.
It was then the turn of PDI-P to ask that the education requirement for candidates be lowered to a level equal to senior high school graduate, to which all the others immediately agreed. Golkar, which initially held back, become more flexible. “If Golkar hadn’t followed suit, then we would have been left as the odd man out; that would be stupid, wouldn’t it?” said Akil Mochtar.
The rest of the story is not hard to guess. The barricade of all the sensitive articles which had initially been built up so solidly finally fell. The requirement to be of sound physical and mental health was also withdrawn. And finally, the requirement that a candidate not be the accused in a case was also abandoned.
These “horse trading” practices have not escaped criticism. The politicians in the DPR are viewed as having wasted a golden opportunity to end up with a solid president, only for the sake of defending the narrow interests of their own parties. Hadar N. Gumay, Deputy Executive Director of Cetro, an election monitoring NGO, deplores this cheap compromise. “So much energy has been wasted and yet once again we will probably see presidential candidates who are problematic,” he said in a disappointed tone.
But there are too those who can understand the outcome. Riswanda Imawan, a political observer who took part in drafting the Presidential Election Bill, is not surprised. “Mutual tolerance among stakeholders is unavoidable,” he said. “It is nonsense to say parties have no interests,” said Akil Mochtar bluntly. They would rather avoid voting. As a result of this practice, the structure which the government had drawn up in its proposed draft has drifted off by 20-30 percent.
Riswanda does have a small qualification, though. If the team of experts that had drawn up the draft of the bill had been involved in the lobbying process, the outcome might possibly have been different. They ought to have been invited to give their views. “It’s like taking away a computer, but leaving the CPU behind,” he said with some vexation. Riswanda was actually invited to Jakarta for the discussions. But, while he was at the DPR, he only ate and lounged around. “It seems I had just been invited to sit down quietly and make everything look good,” said the lecturer in political science from Gadjah Mada University.
In fact, if he had been involved, Riswanda could have provided some academic justification. Take, for example, the question of the educational requirement for presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The suggestion to change this to a level equivalent to senior high school graduate does make sense because–according to statistical data–the highest proportion of Indonesians are those who are in this category: 27 percent. “That is a populist figure,” he suggested.
But the argument of the `Banyan tree’ camp on the status of an accused for a presidential candidate can also be shot down. The issue being that, in criminal law the basis in effect is res judicata pro veritate habetur. This means that a judge’s decisions must be assumed to be correct until a decision is handed down by a higher judge. “Given that determination, the public need not be concerned that there will ever be a presidential candidate who is an accused, let alone one who has already been convicted,” he said.
If that is the situation, it could happen that Akbar Tandjung, the esteemed Golkar chief who now heads up the DPR, will have to wait outside the arena. He was found guilty in a case involving corruption of Rp40 billion of Bulog’s non-budgetary funds and sentenced to three years imprisonment by panels of judges in both the district court and high court. His fate now hinges on an appeal decision of the Supreme Court–which is why Golkar considers his sentence “does not yet have the standing of a final decision under law.”
There is thus an opportunity for Akbar Tandjung, or the butcher Sumanto–if later he should by some twist nominate himself or be nominated to become president–or whoever else who has problems, to finally squeak through. Yet again this nation must pay dearly for the shortcomings of the people’s elected representatives.
Nugroho Dewanto, Abdul Manan, Yandi Rofiandi (TNR)
TEMPO, JULY 21, 2003-045/P. 14 Heading National


Holding Hostages
July 21, 2003, 1:28 pm
Filed under: Politics
POLITICIANS are becoming all-powerful. People may soon need to think deep and hard about ignoring a summons from the House of Representatives (DPR). With the DPR’s approval of the Law on the Composition and Structure of the Legislative Assembly (MPR), DPR, Regional Representatives Council (DPD), and Local Legislative Councils (DPRDs) for ratification by the president, last Wednesday, they now have an effective whip called `Holding Hostages.’ This power to hold hostage may be applied to anyone, including government officials, who try to wriggle out of an invitation from the legislature.
The articles in this law, which was “cooked” from April 25 through to July 9, grant the DPR truly wide powers. Article 30, clause 1 grants authority to this institution of our representatives to seek explanations from anyone it chooses–or gives it the right of subpoena–from state officials, government officials, through to members of the public. Such an invitation must be complied with. If not, especially without giving all clear grounds, those involved may be held hostage. Whoa!
Cast a glance over Article 30 clause 3. It states that the DPR grants a license to carry out a summons using force. If that is still not heeded, clause 4 of the article provides this new whip: that person may then be held hostage for up to 15 days. Wait a minute. According to Yahya Zaini, former chair of the special committee on this law, it is not the DPR that will do the hostage taking, “but the police.”
The whip of the threat of being held hostage may not be used at will. It only applies to a summons when the DPR is using its right of questioning the government. This regulation does not apply for a working meeting. “If it is a working meeting and an official doesn’t turn up, and is subsequently imprisoned, that would be rather hard on the official,” commented Zaini. To be explicit, it is limited to exercising the right of querying the government. “If it weren’t limited, it could be used everywhere.” This regulation seems as if offences then demand complaints. If there is no complaint, no one will then be held hostage.
The regulation is not a completely new one. The right of subpoena certainly did exist earlier, and is set out in Law No. 4/1999. The new law, which regulates the issue of the Composition and Structure of the MPR, DPR, and DPRDs, also provides for criminal charges carrying a maximum prison sentence of one year against those who ignore a summons from the DPR, without having any legitimate grounds for doing so.
However, these penalties or threats thereof were not included in the draft bill proposed by the government. Members of the DPR special committee made an issue of this, though. During the discussions on the bill, there were several factions which proposed that it be redrafted to be like Law No. 4/1999. But this proposal was considered to be ineffective. Because, said Zaini, quoting the special committee, there were two weaknesses in the old legislation. First, the legal process of obtaining a final legal decision is quite protracted. So, government officials who were caught under these provisions would continue to face legal action even though they had already been pensioned. This clause was thought to be rather unjust.
The government then proposed including a mechanism for forced summonses. All the factions agreed. The next question was: What if this was also ignored? Several factions proposed penalties as in the existing law, with the threat of criminal charges carrying a one-year prison sentence. Because this was not agreed to in the discussion, Zaini said, the proposal to hold witnesses hostage was then put forward.
The idea of physically holding someone hostage is not a new practice in law. The government has also begun to apply it to delinquent taxpayers who owe taxes. “This is needed to uphold the status of and respect for the legislature. Because, we have no law or regulation on contempt,” said Zaini. He then mentioned the case of several officials in the Bulog case who did not appear. They did not then face any consequences under the law, though, because the DPR did not submit any report.
However, many people are surprised by these new rules of the game. A former member of the team that put together the Politics Law, Andi Mallarangeng, said that the right of forced summons is actually provided in Law No. 4/1999. But, he reminded everyone, that is more of the nature of a warning. Andi deplores any moves to change that into the right to hold hostages. “This is just the same as hitting a mosquito with a cannon,” he said.
When the new legislation was being passed by the DPR, there were three interruptions, respectively from the People’s Sovereignty Alliance faction, Reform faction, and Crescent Star Party faction. They asked for clarification of the formulation of Article 111 on the transition provisions which involve interim replacements for members of the MPR, DPR, and provincial and regency/city DPRDs. It was agreed to come into effect once the new law was ratified, except for those affected by the prohibition of holding double positions that applies to members of the TNI or police.
This article is unquestionably very necessary for these factions. They have an interest in quickly replacing those members of the DPR who cannot now be got rid of because the previous legislation forbad “recalls”. This law will also become a bulldozer to be used against those representatives of the public who are considered not to be loyal to their parties. What about forced summonses and holding people hostage? They all unanimously agreed it would take effect from 2004. So, officials may no longer take the DPR lightly, unless they want their careers to end in a tailspin.
Abdul Manan, Yandi (TEMPO News Room)
TEMPO, JULY 21, 2003-045/P. 16 Heading National


Dagang Sapi Mengatur Syarat Presiden
July 20, 2003, 12:39 am
Filed under: Politik
Persetujuan Undang-Undang Pemilihan Presiden lebih mengutamakan kepentingan partai. Bagaimana praktek “jual-beli” pasal sensitif?PERMADI tak kuasa menahan luapan hatinya. Anggota parlemen dari PDI Perjuangan ini melakukan interupsi dalam rapat paripurna penerimaan Undang-Undang Pemilihan Presiden dan Wakil Presiden, Senin pekan lalu. Ia menyesalkan dihapuskannya persyaratan calon presiden dan wakil presiden tidak dalam status terdakwa dalam perundangan itu. (more…)



Sekadar Menghitung Ulang
July 20, 2003, 12:34 am
Filed under: Politik
Pendataan ulang pegawai negeri sipil disambut biasa-biasa saja. Antara lain untuk mencari pegawai fiktif.JARUM jam sudah menunjukkan pukul 10. Deretan 20 meja di ruangan itu hanya dihuni tujuh penunggunya. Itu pun tak semua bekerja. Ada yang hanya bermain game di komputernya. Suasana sepi itu tetap bertahan sampai jam kerja berakhir, pukul 16.00. “Ya biasa, Mas, seperti ini,” kata salah seorang pegawai di sana. Padahal hari itu, Kamis pekan lalu, bukan hari libur. (more…)



Dagang Sapi Mengatur Syarat Presiden
July 19, 2003, 5:39 pm
Filed under: Politics
Persetujuan Undang-Undang Pemilihan Presiden lebih mengutamakan kepentingan partai. Bagaimana praktek “jual-beli” pasal sensitif?

PERMADI tak kuasa menahan luapan hatinya. Anggota parlemen dari PDI Perjuangan ini melakukan interupsi dalam rapat paripurna penerimaan Undang-Undang Pemilihan Presiden dan Wakil Presiden, Senin pekan lalu. Ia menyesalkan dihapuskannya persyaratan calon presiden dan wakil presiden tidak dalam status terdakwa dalam perundangan itu.

Interupsi tokoh yang gemar berpakaian serba hitam ini dianggap angin lalu. Pemimpin rapat, Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, juga dari PDI Perjuangan, menghalaunya dengan ucapan pendek, “Nanti dibahas di fraksi masing-masing.” Dan Permadi tak meneruskan protesnya. Sebab, secara formal, fraksinya sudah menerima undang-undang tersebut tanpa reserve.

Di luar ruang sidang, ia mengaku secara pribadi tetap berkeberatan dengan beleid baru tersebut. “Kalau undang-undang itu disahkan, berarti Sumanto bisa menjadi presiden,” ujarnya. Sumanto yang ia maksud adalah seorang terpidana pemakan mayat yang belum lama ini bikin heboh. Permadi heran: di Provinsi Lampung saja, Alzier, tersangka perbuatan kriminal, batal menjadi gubernur meski sudah menang pemilihan secara demokratis. “Jangan sampai rakyat menilai, aturan di daerah saja jauh lebih baik ketimbang yang di pusat,” katanya.

Rapat paripurna akhirnya berlangsung mulus. Cuma, ada interupsi dari Muhaimin dari Fraksi Kebangkitan Bangsa, yang menggugat ihwal tak diaturnya sumbangan dana kampanye untuk pemilihan presiden. Selebihnya lancar jaya. Tanpa banyak diwarnai perdebatan dan dalam tempo yang terhitung singkat, Soetardjo mengetuk palu tanda rapat paripurna DPR menerima undang-undang tersebut.

Semuanya memang berkat lobi. Para anggota panitia kerja sebelumnya kerap bertemu di Hotel Santika Jakarta. Forum itu membahas substansi rancangan undang-undang yang belum disepakati. Di sinilah terjadi perdebatan alot menyangkut dua masalah krusial: persentase perolehan kursi bagi partai politik yang boleh mengajukan calon presiden dan persyaratan calon. Di dalamnya ada soal syarat pendidikan sarjana (S-1), bukan terdakwa, dan sehat jasmani-rohani.

Saking alotnya, masalah itu baru terpecahkan setelah terjadi tujuh kali pembahasan. Lalu dilanjutkan rapat maraton yang biasa berlangsung dari pukul 20.00 sampai pukul 3 dini hari. Alasan setuju-tidaknya tiap-tiap fraksi atas dua masalah itu memang cukup kompleks. Ambil contoh soal terdakwa yang tak boleh menjadi calon presiden yang diajukan pemerintah. Semua fraksi setuju kecuali Partai Golkar.

Kubu Beringin berkilah, dalam negara hukum, asas praduga tak bersalah mesti dijunjung tinggi. Selama status terdakwa belum memiliki kekuatan hukum tetap, ia tak bisa dinyatakan bersalah dan dipasung hak-haknya.

“Di sini kami semua menghantam Golkar,” ujar Amin Said Husni dari Fraksi Kebangkitan Bangsa. Mereka paham, ini menyangkut Akbar Tandjung, Ketua Umum Golkar, yang tampaknya akan maju dalam konvensi partai.

Sebaliknya, Golkar mengusung syarat minimal pendidikan S-1. Ini disokong Fraksi Reformasi dan Partai Bulan Bintang, tapi ditolak oleh PDI Perjuangan. Menurut PDIP, kapabilitas dan kapasitas orang tak selalu ditentukan oleh pendidikan. Buktinya, banyak pemimpin tidak bergelar S-1 tapi sukses. Fraksi Kebangkitan Bangsa sendiri tak terpaku pada syarat formal S-1, tapi yang penting kandidat itu memiliki tingkat intelektualitas yang memadai.

Syarat calon sehat jasmani dan rohani yang diajukan pemerintah disetujui semua fraksi kecuali Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa. “Di bagian ini, giliran kami yang dihantam ramai-ramai,” kata Amin Said sambil tersenyum. Orang pun tahu, PKB sedang berkepentingan dengan calonnya, yakni mantan presiden Abdurrahman Wahid alias Gus Dur, Ketua Dewan Syuro PKB, yang tampaknya ngotot ingin on lagi.

Perolehan suara minimal 20 persen bagi partai yang boleh mengajukan calon presiden sebagaimana draf usulan pemerintah? Tak laku. Itu cuma didukung PDI Perjuangan dan Golkar–dua partai besar pemenang Pemilu 1999. Fraksi-fraksi lain menolak. Padahal persyaratan itu punya argumen: kekuatan pemerintahan mesti ditopang kekuatan parlemen. “Kalau presiden cuma punya 3 persen kursi di parlemen, pemerintahannya akan sulit jalan. Pengalaman Gus Dur bisa menjadi pelajaran,” kata Muhammad Akil Mochtar, anggota panitia khusus dari Partai Golkar

Namun jangan dikira perdebatan alot itu berlangsung dalam suasana panas. Mereka melakukannya sambil berkelakar dan tertawa ngakak. Maklum, peserta lobi sudah sama-sama tahu arah pembicaraan. Kalau bicara soal terdakwa, arahnya jelas. Ngomong S-1, arahnya jelas. Bicara sehat jasmani dan rohani, arahnya juga jelas. “Kami bercanda-canda saja,” ujar Amin Said.

Setelah tiga kali forum lobi berputar-putar tanpa kesepakatan, akhirnya peserta lobi memutuskan kembali ke rumusan di konstitusi. Dalam Pasal 6 UUD 1945 disebutkan bahwa syarat umum calon adalah warga negara Indonesia, mampu secara rohani dan jasmani, dan tak pernah mengkhianati negara. Dari sana akhirnya muncul kesepakatan. “Biarlah para kandidat bertanding secara fair. Jangan ada pasal yang menjegal satu sama lain,” kata Amin Said.

Masalah yang lebih dulu disepakati adalah persyaratan persentase. Soalnya, Fraksi Reformasi tak mau membahas masalah lain bila soal ini belum tuntas. Forum lobi akhirnya menyepakati, untuk tahun 2004, syarat minimal partai politik yang bisa mencalonkan presiden lumayan enteng: cukup memperoleh 3 persen kursi di parlemen pusat dan 5 persen perolehan suara nasional. PAN, yang berkepentingan mengajukan ketua umumnya, Amien Rais, akhirnya lega.

Begitu pasal yang bisa mengganjal pencalonan Amien Rais itu dibongkar, pertahanan Fraksi Reformasi pun ambrol. “Mereka tak lagi gigih mempertahankan syarat lain yang tadinya sangat ideal,” ujar Amin Said.

Giliran PDI Perjuangan meminta syarat pendidikan kandidat diturunkan menjadi setingkat SLTA, semuanya langsung setuju. Golkar, yang semula bertahan, menjadi kendur. “Kalau Golkar tak ikut, lalu kami tinggal sendirian, kan konyol,” kata Akil Mochtar.

Cerita berikutnya mudah ditebak. Barikade pasal sensitif yang semula dibangun kuat-kuat akhirnya jebol. Syarat sehat jasmani-rohani juga dicopot. Dan terakhir, syarat kandidat bukan terdakwa ikut ditanggalkan.

Praktek-praktek “dagang sapi” itu tak urung mengundang kritik. Para politikus di DPR dipandang membuang kesempatan emas untuk menghasilkan presiden yang berbobot cuma gara-gara membela kepentingan sempit partai masing-masing. Hadar N. Gumay, Wakil Direktur Eksekutif Cetro, lembaga swadaya masyarakat pemantau pemilu, menyayangkan kompromi murahan itu. “Begitu banyak energi yang terbuang dan lagi-lagi kita mungkin akan melihat calon presiden yang bermasalah,” ujarnya dengan nada kecewa.

Tapi ada pula yang bisa maklum. Riswanda Imawan, pengamat politik yang ikut menyusun RUU Pemilihan Presiden, tak heran. “Saling toleransi antar-stakeholder itu tak bisa dihindari,” ujarnya. “Bullshit kalau partai tak punya kepentingan,” ujar Akil Mochtar. Mereka malah menghindari voting. Akibat praktek tersebut, konstruksi yang dibuat pemerintah sebagaimana tertuang dalam draf usulan tadi melenceng 20-30 persen.

Riswanda punya catatan kecil. Seandainya saja tim ahli yang menyusun rancangan UU tersebut dilibatkan dalam proses lobi, hasilnya mungkin lain. Mereka seharusnya diundang untuk ikut memberikan pandangan. “Ibaratnya komputernya dibawa, tapi chip-nya ditinggal,” katanya menyesalkan. Riswanda memang diundang ke Jakarta selama proses pembahasan. Tapi, selama di DPR, ia hanya makan dan duduk-duduk. “Ternyata saya diundang cuma untuk duduk manis,” ujar dosen ilmu politik Universitas Gadjah Mada ini.

Padahal, bila dilibatkan, Riswanda bisa memberikan pembenaran akademik. Ambil contoh soal syarat pendidikan calon presiden dan wakil presiden. Usul mengubah persyaratan menjadi setingkat SLTA cukup masuk akal lantaran–menurut data statistik–orang Indonesia yang lulus SLTA mencapai angka tertinggi, yaitu 27 persen. “Ini adalah angka yang populis,” ujarnya.

Tapi argumen kubu Beringin mengenai status terdakwa bagi calon presiden bisa juga ditohok. Soalnya, dalam hukum pidana berlaku asas res judicata pro veritate habetur. Artinya, keputusan hakim harus dianggap benar sebelum ada keputusan hakim yang lebih tinggi. “Dengan ketentuan itu, masyarakat tak perlu khawatir ada calon presiden seorang terdakwa, apalagi terpidana,” katanya.

Kalau begitu putusannya, bisa-bisa Akbar Tandjung, sang Ketua Umum Golkar yang kini memimpin DPR, tersingkir dari arena. Dalam perkara korupsi dana nonbujeter Bulog senilai Rp 40 miliar, ia divonis bersalah dan dihukum penjara tiga tahun oleh majelis hakim pengadilan negeri dan pengadilan tinggi. Ia kini menggantungkan nasibnya pada putusan kasasi Mahkamah Agung–itu sebabnya Beringin menganggap hukuman itu “belum berkekuatan hukum tetap.”

Peluang Akbar Tandjung, atau jagal Sumanto–jika kelak siapa tahu dia mencalonkan diri atau dicalonkan jadi presiden–atau siapa pun mereka yang bermasalah akhirnya diselamatkan. Lagi-lagi bangsa ini harus membayar mahal karena kealpaan para wakil rakyat.

Nugroho Dewanto, Abdul Manan, Yandi Rofiandi (TNR)

TEMPO Edisi 030720-020/Hal. 26 Rubrik Nasional



Sekadar Menghitung Ulang
July 19, 2003, 5:34 pm
Filed under: Politics
Pendataan ulang pegawai negeri sipil disambut biasa-biasa saja. Antara lain untuk mencari pegawai fiktif.

JARUM jam sudah menunjukkan pukul 10. Deretan 20 meja di ruangan itu hanya dihuni tujuh penunggunya. Itu pun tak semua bekerja. Ada yang hanya bermain game di komputernya. Suasana sepi itu tetap bertahan sampai jam kerja berakhir, pukul 16.00. “Ya biasa, Mas, seperti ini,” kata salah seorang pegawai di sana. Padahal hari itu, Kamis pekan lalu, bukan hari libur.

Itulah ruang kerja Biro Informasi Komunikasi dan Kehumasan Pemerintah Daerah Jawa Tengah. Ia seperti mewakili suasana umum situasi kantor pemerintahan di Indonesia. Pegawai yang lebih banyak mangkir atau ke kantor dengan santai. Adanya Program Penelitian Ulang Pegawai Negeri Sipil, yang dilakukan sejak 1 Juli sampai 31 Juli, tak mengubah “kebiasaan” itu.

Para pegawai negeri bukannya tidak tahu rencana pendataan ulang itu. Namun mereka menyadari program ini bukan seperti penelitian khusus (litsus) model dulu. “Saya sudah menerima formulirnya. Formulir itu hanya untuk pendataan diri pegawai negeri sipil, bukan evaluasi kinerja. Jadi kami santai saja,” kata pegawai itu.

Namun tak semua pegawai negeri santai dengan adanya penelitian ulang ini. Ada juga yang deg-degan. Misalnya di kantor Pemda Jawa Timur. “Apakah pemerintah bisa meyakinkan kami, tak akan ada rasionalisasi atau dipensiunkan dini bagi pegawai yang pekerjaannya tidak jelas,” kata pegawai yang tak mau disebut identitasnya saat diwawancarai Adi Mawardi dari Tempo News Room.

Di Kota Makassar, ibu kota Provinsi Sulawesi Selatan, jamak ditemui pegawai negeri berseragam nongkrong di warung kopi di sekitar kantor pemerintah. Salah satunya adalah pemandangan di Warung Kopi Phoenam di Kawasan Panakukang Mas. Sekalipun jam kerja sudah tiba, mereka tetap saja nongkrong di warung.

Kenapa sebagian pegawai negeri itu suka menghilang dari mejanya? Volume pekerjaan memang sedikit, sedangkan jumlah pegawai terlalu banyak. “Lha wong, pekerjaannya tidak ada, masak mereka mau nganggur di kantor sampai jam 4 sore. Para pegawai jemu dan jenuh, sehingga wajar jika banyak yang meninggalkan kantor,” kata seorang pegawai yang enggan disebut namanya.

Banyaknya pegawai di lingkungan Sekretariat Daerah Provinsi Jawa Tengah diakui Kepala Bidang dan Pengolahan Data dari Badan Kepegawaian Daerah Jawa Tengah, Nunuk Tri Rochani. “Banyak pegawai yang tugasnya tidak jelas,” kata Nunuk kepada Sohirin dari Tempo News Room.

Kelebihan tenaga ini, menurut Nunuk, akibat kebijakan otonomi daerah serta peleburan dan likuidasi beberapa dinas. Kini jumlah pegawai di Sekretariat Daerah Jawa Tengah menjadi 20.093 orang. Dari jumlah itu, 6.000 di antaranya berasal dari pemerintah pusat dan departemen yang dilikuidasi beberapa waktu lalu.

Di Sumatera Utara juga begitu. Banyak pegawai yang menumpuk di berbagai instansi dan itu tak diimbangi dengan volume pekerjaan yang memadai. “Dari pendataan ulang inilah bisa diketahui instansi mana saja yang memiliki pegawai yang mubazir ataupun yang tak produktif,” kata Kepala Bidang Humas Pemerintah Provinsi Sumatera Utara, Eddy Sofyan, kepada wartawan Tempo News Room, Bambang Soed.

Direktur Jenderal Pemerintahan Umum Departemen Dalam Negeri, Progo Nurdjaman, menyatakan bahwa program nasional ini untuk mendata ulang pegawai setelah terjadinya banyak pergeseran pegawai akibat otonomi daerah plus likuidasi beberapa kantor departemen dan dinas. Ini juga untuk menilai rasionalisasi jumlah pegawai serta beban kerjanya.

Pendataan kedua setelah program pertama 1974 lalu ini memang semata-mata untuk pendataan ulang. Terkecuali Provinsi Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. Khusus untuk daerah ujung barat Indonesia ini, juga ada fungsi plusnya: pembinaan pegawai berdasarkan Undang-Undang No. 43 Tahun 1999 tentang Kepegawaian Negeri Sipil. “Dalam undang-undang itu disebutkan kewajiban pegawai harus setia kepada Pancasila, UUD 45, dan Negara Kesatuan RI,” kata Nurdjaman.

Karena itu, lembaran formu-lirnya sedikit beda. Untuk pegawai daerah lain, di formulirnya hanya tercantum isian tentang posisi kerjanya saat ini, data pribadi, keluarga dan sau-dara, riwayat pekerjaan, penempatan, dan kepangkatan. Di Aceh, ada bonus lembaran suplemen data yang berisi pernyataan kesetiaan kepada Merah Putih.

Perlakuan istimewa di Bumi Serambi Mekah ini karena banyak pegawai yang bermain di dua kaki: satu kaki untuk Indonesia, kaki sebelahnya untuk Gerakan Aceh Merdeka. Tak mengherankan jika belakangan ini terjadi sejumlah penangkapan terhadap pegawai negeri yang bermasalah. Terakhir adalah ditangkapnya Marzuki Yahya, staf tata pemerintahan di Kantor Gubernur Aceh. Polisi menduga pria 45 tahun ini banyak memberi sokongan dana buat GAM.

Program ini juga bukan sekadar mendata pegawai negeri sipil. Menurut Nurdjaman, yang ingin dilacak juga soal pegawai fiktif, yang membuat gaji mengalir keluar tapi tidak ada orangnya. Dia mengakui ada praktek semacam itu, tapi tak tahu persis berapa jumlahnya. Nurdjaman juga menyebut soal adanya pegawai yang masih menerima tunjangan anak padahal anaknya sudah meninggal. “Meski kecil,” kata Nurdjaman, “hal itu tetap merugikan negara.”

Abdul Manan, Ecep Yasa, Syarif Amir

TEMPO Edisi 030720-020/Hal. 36 Rubrik Nasional



Digging for the Truth
July 15, 2003, 12:18 am
Filed under: Politics
Mass graves have been found in several places in Aceh. The murderers remain unknown.SHOVELS were lifted carefully. Lump by lump the men removed the earth from a location in the brush near the village of Guci, in Permata District, Central Aceh. But the excavation suddenly stopped when the end of the shovel struck a hard object. Both workers and witnesses looked at one another. When the excavation was continued more cautiously, from under the clumps of earth a human skull, and leg, thigh, hand, rib, and hip bones emerged. Subsequently, in this 3×2 meter hole 18 human skeletons were found, suspected to be those of victims of a mass killing. (more…)



Digging for the Truth
July 14, 2003, 5:18 pm
Filed under: Politics
Mass graves have been found in several places in Aceh. The murderers remain unknown.

SHOVELS were lifted carefully. Lump by lump the men removed the earth from a location in the brush near the village of Guci, in Permata District, Central Aceh. But the excavation suddenly stopped when the end of the shovel struck a hard object. Both workers and witnesses looked at one another. When the excavation was continued more cautiously, from under the clumps of earth a human skull, and leg, thigh, hand, rib, and hip bones emerged. Subsequently, in this 3×2 meter hole 18 human skeletons were found, suspected to be those of victims of a mass killing.

In Permata, by the time the excavation was completed, no fewer than 26 human skeletons had been found. Apart from the ones in Guci, eight more skeletons had been found in the hamlet of Seni Antara, part of the village of Wehnipasee. According to Permata’s District Head, Rasyid, there may well still be other mass graves in the area. Around 315 local residents are still unaccounted for. “They were mostly kidnapped from their homes or disappeared in their travels,” he said.

This one mass grave was found by accident. In May, Jarnidan, 44, a Burnipasee resident, noticed mounded over earth when he was passing a particular spot. He was shocked to observe a bone protruding from the mound and immediately reported his find to police. It was dug up Friday two weeks ago, witnessed by police, health service officers, and Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers from Kostrad battalion 43.

When the earth was removed, several remnants of clothing were found still stuck to or wrapped around the bones. They also found kopiah hats, underpants, and sarongs, together with several lengths of plastic raffia.

Jarnidan has been keuchik (village head) in Burnipasee for the past five years. He remains convinced the murderers were the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), when they still held sway in his village in 2001. “Most of the victims had had their throats cut while their hands were tied behind them,” he revealed.

He got his information on this murder at first hand from GAM members. He recounted that he was often called to give them massages. During the light chitchat during the massages, the GAM members unwittingly told him about the slaughter of some locals around Burnipasee, whose corpses were then buried in a hole in Guci.

At the time, there was not a lot that Jarnidan could do. He only tried to remember the approximate location of the mass grave. Only after a state of military emergency was declared in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province and the security forces arrived, did he feel safe enough to track down the exact location.

Guci is located around 25 kilometers from Buntul, the major town in Permata, and 75 kilometers from the capital of Central Aceh Regency, Takengon. The mass grave is on the left hand side of the KKA (Kertas Kraft Aceh) deviation road. Built in the mid-1980s, the road connects Central and North Aceh.

Jarnidan claims that he once met Muzakkir Manaf in the area–before the latter replaced the late Teungku Abdullah Sjafi’i as GAM’s commander in chief. Muzakkir, who once stayed there for around three months, had several times enjoyed the benefit of Jarnidan’s massages.

Guci, covering 12 hectares, is now a ghost village. No houses remain there. “This was admittedly a GAM supporters’ village,” Jarnidan recalled. After the peace agreement collapsed, several houses there were burnt by mobs. The inhabitants, generally GAM members, fled into the forest.

One witness, Syaifudin, 39, a resident of Buntul Kemumu Village, in Permata, suspects that the remains of his close friend Rahmadi, 33, lie among the bones. The transmigrant from Java disappeared at the end of 2002 on a journey to Takengon market on the KKA deviation road. On his return from the market, Rahmadi took his wife to her parents’ house–and then disappeared. He was reportedly captured by GAM and taken to Guci.

Around 20 kilometers to the north there is a second mass grave. To be precise, in Seni Antara Village, Wehnipasee, Permata. It is hard to reach the location because you have to travel along a narrow path which descends steeply and is obstructed by lots of thick thorn bushes. But, after descending a hill, you come to a 3×5 meter platform hut with wooden walls and a palm leaf roof. “That is where they often interrogated the locals they detained,” said Jarnidan.

The grave is around 50 meters from the hut. The path there is bordered by coarse reeds as tall as a house. You must also wade through knee-deep water before arriving at a small open area surrounded by the swamp. Jarnidan found the hut earlier when, with others, they had steeled themselves to go to the interrogation location three months ago. Arriving there, they were greeted by a very strong bad smell.

Forcing themselves to proceed, the locals, health service officers, and soldiers dug up the grave. In the space of just three minutes, a human skull emerged. In fact, pieces of rotting flesh were still sticking to the bones in several places, especially around the hips. Five complete human skulls were found amongst the other scattered bones. Several pieces of ripped clothing were also found, together with plastic raffia binding. In the 1×2 meter hole they found eight human skeletons.

Locals are convinced there are still several other mass graves nearby. Sumardi, a transmigrant from Java who has become a coffee farmer, claims he saw several others whose hands were tied being taken to Kemp Village Hill. This is around 25 kilometers away from the grave in Seni Antara.

Captain Zulfanus Karo Karo, a company commander in Kostrad battalion 431, backed up these suspicions. At the end of 2002, 100 villagers from Istiqamah-Kemp, Permata, were taken by GAM. During the peace agreement, in a meeting between GAM, TNI, and government officials, GAM had demanded that the local government build them a headquarters in Istiqamah-Kemp Village. As recompense, all those who were being detained were to be released.

The local government agreed. The building materials were taken to Kemp, together with foodstuffs for the workforce. This deal went awry after the peace agreement failed. The GAM members fled into the forest and 100 village locals vanished without trace. “So the possibility does remain there are still many more mass graves in Central Aceh, especially in Permata,” said Zulfanus.

TNI Information Center Head, Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin announced that TNI had first received reports of mass graves in Aceh three years ago. Based on these, it investigated a number of suspicious locations in West and Central Aceh. “The victims were civilians and GAM perpetrated this,” declared Sjafrie. Most of the victims were transmigrants.

But GAM military spokesperson, Sofjan Daud denies the accusations. “TNI did the killing and they are now the ones digging them up,” he said, flatly. He suspects that TNI’s uncovering of the graves, as is now being done in Central Aceh, is to get rid of physical evidence. “This digging up should be done by independent groups, such as the National Commission on Human Rights (KomnasHAM) and NGOs,” he said.

The digging up of these two graves is certainly deplored by the Commission for Missing Persons & Victims of Violence (Kontras). In a statement last Friday, Kontras said it considered the excavations could be viewed as actions that damaged and destroyed physical evidence of a crime. “In fact, taking this further, this action is headed in the direction of obstruction of justice,” said Kontras Coordinator Usman Hamid.

Coordinating Minister for Politics & Security, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, discounts these extreme accusations. The TNI and police, he said, acted in response to reports from the public because their complaints to human rights organizations had drawn little action.

He claimed that the public finally had to report the matter to local officials. To prove the truth of the reports, the military emergency authority for Aceh had investigated and uncovered the mass graves, witnessed by reporters. So, he said, “There was then actually no attempt at all to do away with physical evidence, prevent openness or objectivity, because the reporters were invited along,” said Yudhoyono. During the excavation on Friday two weeks ago, reporters did indeed get invited to see for themselves.

The controversy over the mass graves will undoubtedly continue. This is because KomnasHAM, too, has now stepped in and been given information there are three more such graves in North Aceh and Bireuen. “In checking in the field, we received very definite information that some corpses there were buried in abnormal ways. I am not using the term mass grave,” stressed Head of the Ad Hoc team on Aceh from KomnasHAM, M.M. Billah, after several days in Aceh.

The locations of the graves have been identified; in a pond which has now been filled in, in a well, and in the forest. The information originates from a witness who found the grave when looking for missing people, together with 90 other locals. It turned out that the missing people were found and showed them a pond which had become the burial place for several corpses. The group then dug down around 20-25 centimeters and saw the back of a corpse which was already in a decayed state. The excavation was then discontinued because the men were afraid.

Billah revealed that his team had not had the chance to check the location of the grave in Bireuen because of the difficulty in reaching it. The graves are located 3-25 kilometers from the Banda Aceh-Medan highway. His team is to immediately verify the information. The perpetrators? Still unknown, stressed Billah.

Abdul Manan, Cahyo Junaedy, Bernarda Rurit (TEMPO News Room)

TEMPO, JULY 14, 2003-044/P. 26 Heading National