Novel Baswedan: President Should be Irked by Inept Legal System

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan in Tempo’s online discussion yesterday said that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo should feel bothered by a legal system that is seemingly inept, especially in his case. 

“I am aware that the President is interested in building everything in our country, which includes building a legal system, improving our legal system. He would surely be bothered by the facts in the field that shows the legal system is in tatters,” said Novel Baswedan in Monday’s Ngobrol Tempo discussion.

Novel argues that there had been numerous problems since the beginning of the court trial on his attackers; Rahmat Kadir Mahulette and Ronny Bugis. The KPK investigator also claims to have seen a plethora of manipulations and imbalances committed by investigators up to public prosecutors. 

The latest ineptness according to him is when Rahmat and Ronny only received charges up to one-year imprisonment from the public prosecutor and failed to accommodate Novel Baswedan as the victim in the acid attack. 

Novel believes that the acid attack against him, which nearly killed him according to his testimony, is an act of attempted murder and severe mistreatment. As a nation that has adopted a presidential system, Novel Baswedan said that he could question the oddities he has witnessed in the court process to President Jokowi, who holds the ultimate power in the country. 

He also encouraged the president to investigate the case personally as Novel believes Jokowi intends to create a better legal system in Indonesia.

EGI ADYATAMA