Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Indonesia: Public lean to vigilantism in place of law


They survey that found many people believe President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has failed to improve on the law enforcement system left by his predecessors.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Jakarta Globe | April 8, 2013

The alarming move toward street justice appears likely to continue, with a new survey finding 57 percent of the public were dissatisfied with law enforcement in the country.

The Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) survey found 31 percent of respondents said they would take matters into their own hands because they did not believe that the legal process would give them justice.

Despite the high dissatisfaction figure, 46 percent respondents still said they believed people accused of crimes should be processed in accordance with the law.

The survey found 30 percent of respondents were satisfied with the legal process. Some 23 percent of respondents did not answer or said they did not know.

LSI researcher Dewi Arum said the low public trust in law enforcement could lead to anarchy. “It’s not an exaggeration or a surprise to see the many instances of street justice in several areas of Indonesia,” Dewi told a media conference on Sunday.

She cited several recent cases — a prison attack in Sleman, Yogyakarta, an attack on Ogan Komering Ulu police station in South Sumatra and vandalism on the government building in Palopo, South Sulawesi — as evidence that the public no longer trusted law enforcement.

“Those who were dissatisfied and didn’t believe that a case could be solved fairly through the formal legal system eventually took matters into their own hands,” Dewi said.

Dissatisfaction toward law enforcement has grown year-on-year.

An LSI survey in January 2010 found that 37 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with law enforcement.

The figure grew to 41 percent in October 2010. In September 2011, it jumped to 50 percent and remained at that level in October 2012.

They survey that found many people believe President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has failed to improve on the law enforcement system left by his predecessors.

Some 41 percent respondents said that law enforcement during Yudhoyono leadership matches that of earlier eras, 27 percent said the situation was worse and only 23 percent said it was better than under previous administrations.

The survey was conducted last Monday to Thursday and involved 1,200 respondents across all 33 Indonesian provinces. The margin of error was 2.9 percent.

The survey was accompanied by qualitative research using media analysis, focus groups and in-depth interviews.

Dewi attributed growing dissatisfaction to several factors. Firstly, low public confidence that law enforcement officers would act fairly, with the majority of respondents believing law enforcement officers in Indonesia could easily be persuaded to accommodate vested interests.

Secondly, many politicians, ministers and government officials are involved in corruption cases. Thirdly, the tacit acceptance of mass riots by law enforcers, such as attacks against Ahmadis and Shia followers.

The final factor is weak national leadership in upholding the law consistently. Dewi said that people close to Yudhoyono had committed corruption despite the president’s anti-graft statements.



Read original post here: Public Lean to Vigilantism in Place of Law


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