President Jokowi Supports Severe Punishments for Corruptors, Drug Dealer, Terrorists

President Jokowi joins a photo session with Supreme Court leaders after opening at the opening of the Extraordinary Plenary Session of 2017 Annual Report of the Supreme Court at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Jakarta, Thursday (1/3). (Photo by: Rahmat/Public Relations Division)

President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo has expressed his support for measures taken by the Supreme Court (MA) in realizing a clean, fair and dignified judiciary body that upholds discipline to all parties involved in the judiciary processes.

“I support severe punishment and deterrence effects for corruptors, drug dealers, terrorists, and anyone who destroys unity of Indonesia and jeopardize justice in our country,” the President said in his remarks at the opening of the Extraordinary Plenary Session of 2017 Annual Report of the Supreme Court at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Jakarta, Thursday (1/3).

President Jokowi also called on Supreme Court leaders and Supreme Court judges to guide and mentor candidate and young judges to shape them into judges with professionalism, honesty, integrity, and dignity.

“(Do guide and mentor them to become) upstanding and fair judges by taking into account laws and regulations, judges who are soft by considering conscience and a sense of justice, judges that receive trust from the people, justice seekers, and the international community,” the President said.

According to the President, a very accountable and transparent proses of candidate judge selection is already a good start, evidence by a credible national selection team, the selection process that is supervised by a supervisory team, and the quality is directly controlled by a quality assurance team.

President Jokowi also believes that those reforms have strengthened the Supreme Court and will improve credibility and transparency of judiciary bodies and improve leadership quality within those bodies. Therefore, the President said, legal certainty in Indonesia will be better, public trust will be higher and investors’ trust to Indonesia will be stronger.

Previously, President Jokowi said that judiciary bodies are an important pillar for the strength of the nation and for a leap of progress towards an advanced Indonesia. “Judiciary bodies are the main pillar so that our country moves faster towards an advanced country that provides justice the whole Indonesian people,” the President said.

Therefore, the President added, in addition to hard work in the preparation and implementation of development programs, another major foundation that make Indonesia an advanced country is a credible and accountable legal process and system that brings legal certainty and legal enforcement that provides justice for the people.

On that occasion, President Jokowi extended his gratitude and highest appreciation for all measures taken by the Supreme Court in creating transparent, professional and credible judiciary bodies.

“(I applaud) the issuance of a number of progressive regulations of the Supreme Court, reforms in case management through the case control quality system, modernization of case cost system and deposit, perfection of case classification digitalization standard, as well as other positive breakthroughs made by the Supreme Court,” the President concluded.

Also attending the plenary session were Chairman of the Supreme Court Prof. Dr. M. Hatta Ali, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Zulkifli Hasan, Speaker of the Regional Representatives Council (DPR) Oesman Sapta, Attorney General Prasetyo SH, Commander of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) Hadi Tjahjanto, and Chief of the Indonesian National Police General General Tito Karnavian. (FID/RAH/ES) (EP/YM/Naster)