Lawmakers try to behave

Lawmakers at the House of Representatives' Commission III on legal affairs were urged not to clap their hands during a hearing with the attorney general for fear it would spark public anger.

"Please, don't clap your hands in this forum. If you do, the House will be publicly condemned," commission chairman Benny K. Harman said Monday prior to the start of the hearing.

Benny's warning came after someone clapped following three questions put on the table by legislator Syarifuddin Suding to Attorney General Hendarman Supandji.

In what seemed to be damage control mode compared to the hearing with the National Police last week, lawmakers questioned the AGO on issues ranging from alleged widespread corruption in the judiciary to the suspected involvement of senior prosecutors in the possible criminalization of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah.

The commission received wide criticism from the public in the previous hearing as they had not only clapped quite often but also publicly showed their support for the police.

Suspended National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji — said to be mentioned in a wiretapped recording of Anggodo Widjojo, brother of fugitive graft suspect Anggoro Widjojo — successfully charmed the lawmakers with his "defense statements".

On Monday, Hendarman was lambasted for not taking action against his subordinates Abdul Hakim Ritonga and Wisnu Subroto after their implication in the alleged plot to frame Bibit and Chandra.

"Prosecutors should just drop the case if they don't have enough evidence," said Bambang Soesatyo from the Golkar Party.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) Gayus Lumbuun warned of simmering public outrage at law enforcement institutions deemed to have carried out miscarriages of justice in key cases.

"The attorney general should bear in mind the people have their own reasons to launch a civilian movement against the 'law mafia' that has devastated their sense of justice," he said.

"To the people, the alleged criminalization of Bibit and Chandra has something to do with the KPK's plan to investigate the alleged graft in the IT project at the KPU [General Elections Commission] and the Bank Century scandal implicating a senior police officer.

"Prosecutors must be able to collect solid evidence to bring the two KPK deputies to court, otherwise the cases will be sent back to the police," Gayus added.