At the age of 59, a number of issues still cloud the Attorney General\'s Office, one of the spearheads of law enforcement in the country.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS — At the age of 59, a number of issues still cloud the Attorney General\'s Office, one of the spearheads of law enforcement in the country. Integrity, independence and transparency are some of the qualities demanded from this institution.
After being appointed as the attorney general by President Joko Widodo, Sanitiar Burhanuddin said revamping human resources would be a priority of his work. "We will form an assessment center to assess the competency of prosecutors. We will refine and improve the competency standards and measurement methods," said Burhanuddin, who four years ago retired from the prosecutor\'s office, where he had last held the position as deputy attorney general in charge of civil and administrative affairs.
The following are excerpts from the Kompas interview with Burhanuddin conducted on Tuesday (26/11/2019) at the Attorney General\'s Office, Jakarta.
What is the ultimate goal of upgrading the human resources?
Without reliable human resources, we cannot do anything. Thus, the prosecutors must be good, clean, have integrity and a vision. This improvement certainly takes a long time and requires continuity. Frankly, I have taken on this [job in the context] of conflict management. There is no synchronization among departments. There are also different views between officials. However, we are team and cannot walk alone. There is no attorney general without the deputy attorney general or other prosecutors and vice versa.
What about reports of bribery in the promotion of prosecutors?
When meeting with the chief prosecutors, assistants or during teleconferences, I always warn the prosecutors, if someone asks for money, please report it. I will remove those who give money and accept money. If they report, I will give a reward. Yes, it happens. But it\'s hard to uncover because of the lack of openness.
Have there been any reforms in the recruitment of prosecutors?
We will make it more transparent. As for the academic test, it will be conducted by the National Personnel Agency. We only do the interviews, which I will monitor closely. This year we will recruit around 5,000 employees. I will not tolerate delinquents. Please let me know if there are any delinquents.
Will the Government and Development Safeguarding Team (TP4) be disbanded? What was the result of its evaluation?
My decision is the decision of the President, who wants it to be closed. Actually, there is no more need for evaluation, because the TP4 is, first, used for protection by those engaged in corruption. Second, we were given authority in fields we practically do not know. We do not know the technicalities but were given the authority to oversee them. That situation was abused. So, we will form a new structure, the Directorate for Securing National Strategic Development.
Should the supervision of prosecutors be more stringent?
The more you watch, the better. If there is a delinquent prosecutor, please arrest them, I will not protect them. I think there will be a natural selection. The good ones will emerge.
What about the Special Task Force on Corruption?
It’s still there. Just to be balanced, in addition to prosecution, there must also be prevention. Ever since I joined the prosecutor\'s office, the cases are the same. There is a lot of alleged corruption. So, let\'s prevent it. There are many forms of prevention. One of them is to create a corruption-free zone in the prosecutors’ office.
What about the handling of human rights violations?
Cases of human rights violations cannot only be handled just by the Attorney General\'s Office with Komnas HAM. All – the judiciary, executive, legislative and victims\' families must sit together.
What about the minimal budget for the prosecutors’ office?
I always say to fellow state prosecutors, don\'t complain. I will not deny their achievements. If they make achievement, they can be promoted. That\'s their reward.
Talking about independence, you happen to be the relative of a political party figure. How do you deal with that?
I stay independent. Hasanuddin (TB Hasanuddin, a member of the House of Representatives from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle/PDI-P) is my brother, but I don\'t even know the PDI-P office. Between my nomination (as attorney general) and the fact that I am the brother of Hasanuddin, there is no connection. I do not have any particular interests. (IAN/HAR)