Jakarta, Feb 9 (Antara) - The Constitutional Court (MK) is a holder of the country's judicial power along with the Supreme Court, which aims at supervising the law so that it will be enforced based on the Constitution.
As an institution handling the judicial review of a law which is under a dispute, the MK must be manned with clean, trusted and professional judges. They must not be shaken by any promises that aim to influence the MK verdict.
Its image was seriously tarnished when one of its chairmen, Akil Mochtar, was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in 2013 for a bribery case and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014.
After about two years, the MK has been struggling to improve its image and to regain public trust. While it has been gradually regaining the public trust, another case, involving one of its justices Patrialis Akbar who was once again arrested by the KPK for an alleged bribery case, has tarnished it.
"I am advised (by President Joko Widodo or (Jokowi) that the MK should be careful, as the public trust on it has been high, but this case has tarnished it all. We have built a good image, but again, there is (another) case," MK Chairman Arief Hidayat said after delivering a recommendation letter to the president for the temporary dismissal of Akbar as a MK justice.
The MK's Ethics Council (MKMK) in its preliminary investigation found that Akbar had committed gross violations of the code of ethics and the guidelines of constitutional judges.
Therefore, the case involving Akbar should serve as a momentum for MK to really recruit professional justices and to rebuild public trust. The KPK hopes that Akbar's case should serve as a corner stone for improvement.
"KPK is of the view that the existence of MK as one of the country's judicial powers is very important in supervising the implementation of the Constitution. Its justices must really be elected out of statesmen," KPK Spokesman Febri Diansyah said at the KPK building in Jakarta on Monday (Feb 6).
KPK also hopes that the recruitment of justices for MK should be conducted through a transparent and accountable process. The track-records of candidates who register for recruitment should first be traced.
The candidates' legal contribution, track-records and their behavior when they assume a position must be analyzed. Their support for the public also needs to be evaluated. "KPK also hopes that the MK justices have strong commitment to eradicate corruption," noted Febri.
On Monday (Feb 6), MKMK Chairman Sukma Violetta confirmed that Akbar had committed gross violations of the code of ethics and the guidelines of constitutional judges in connection with alleged bribery from beef importer Basuki Hariman, the president director of PT Sumber Laut Perkasa and PT Impexindo Pratama.
Hence, MK Chairman Arief Hidayat conveyed a recommendation letter to Jokowi at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday requesting the temporary dismissal of Akbar.
"I handed over the letter and explained the temporary suspension of Akbar as the MK judge based on the results of MKMK investigation," Hidayat stated.
With the MKMK's decision (to suspend Akbar), the MK chairman should write immediately to the president to seek a temporary suspension. It therefore conveyed the letter and explained the process of (the investigation) to the president.
After the issuance of the president's letter of temporary suspension, the ethics council would conduct a follow-up investigation. The MKMK will then recommend whether Akbar will be discharged honorably or dishonorably.
According to Hidayat, the president realized the need to immediately propose a candidate to replace Akbar as the constitutional court judge. "The president is aware that in March the MK will conduct the regional head elections (Pilkada) cases. If Akbar is not replaced soon, then there will only be eight judges and it will be a burden for the MK (to have only eight judges in handling Pilkada cases)," Hidayat stated.
MK had discussed the replacement of Akbar, honorably or dishonorably, if he is eventually discharged. The president had requested the MK to be careful in carrying out its tasks.
Akbar is the second Constitutional Court judge to have been arrested for corruption following the case involving Mochtar, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014 after the KPK caught him red-handed while accepting bribes to issue favorable verdicts in election disputes.
Akbar is accused by the KPK of accepting bribes allegedly paid to sway him over an upcoming ruling about a cattle and husbandry law. He had allegedly received a bribe or gift in foreign currencies worth US$20 thousand and S$200 thousand (about Rp2.1 billion) from Hariman.
Akbar has been named a suspect by the KPK in the case linked to a judicial review of Law No. 41 of 2014 on Animal Breeding and Animal Health.
The law allows the importation of cattle from a zone-based country (cattle can be imported from an animal disease-free zone of a country), although the country concerned is included in the red-zone or dangerous zone country, such as India.
Previously, beef can be imported only from a country-based category nation (a country that is free from animal foot-and-mouth disease) like Australia and New Zealand. Australia is the country of origin of cattle imported by PT Sumber Laut Perkasa.
The judicial review of Law No. 41 Year of 2014 was filed with the MK by six petitioners, notably Teguh Boediayana, Mangku Sitepu, the Indonesian Milk Cooperatives Association (GKSI), Gun Gun Muhammad Luthfi Nugraha, Asnawi and Rachmat Pambudi who felt they were disadvantaged with the imposition of the law. They argued that the importation of cattle from zone-based category countries threatens the health of local cattle, affects local breeders and reduces the availability of fresh beef and milk.
Importer PT Sumber Laut Perkasa, which imports beef from Australia and New Zealand, supports the judicial review of Law No. 41/2014.***2*** |
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