JAKARTA. The recent departure of Supreme Court secretary Nurhadi, a powerful man behind the top court’s verdict administration, has shed light on real changes awaiting in the country’s highest judicial institution.

Political pressures that have hammered him after being implicated in a graft case have driven the 59-year-old to tender early retirement, a year before his time. Nurhadi, who the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has slapped with a travel ban in connection to a bribery case surrounding the handling of a case review filed by a subsidiary of the Lippo Group in April, tendered his resignation to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo days after the KPK confirmed it had opened a fresh investigation to further confirm Nurhadi’s alleged role in the case.

University of Indonesia’s (UI) Indonesian Judicial Watch Society (MaPPI) called on the court to conduct open recruitment to seek Nurhadi’s successor instead of conducting internal selection, which is not transparent.

Open recruitment will ensure that the selected successor to Nurhadi is not chosen according to subjective criteria imposed by the court’s chief and will also let outsiders with integrity and a good track record have an opportunity to compete for the job.

“Law No. 5/2014 on the state apparatus allows [the court] to conduct open selection to fill the post of Supreme Court secretary. The selection will open doors for civil servants and non-civil servant candidates to compete for the job,” MaPPI researcher Aulia Ali Reza said in a statement on Sunday.

MaPPI said court officials could also join the open recruitment and that it did not matter whether the court secretary post was later filled by an internal official, as long as he or she passed the open recruitment process.

“We call on the Supreme Court to carry out transparent selection of Nurhadi’s successor to support efforts to reform the court,” the NGO said.

In April, the KPK found Rp 1.7 billion (US$129,200) in a search of his home. The money is believed to be related to the handling of several cases at the court, including the plea filed by Lippo.

The KPK found difficulties in charging Nurhadi in the case because he had allegedly destroyed a number of documents related to the Lippo case, and the National Police have yet to allow the KPK to question his four adjutants, who are members of the police.

The National Police chief said on Thursday that his side would allow the KPK to question the four police members in order for the KPK to step up its investigation.

Supreme Court chief justice Hatta Ali, known to be close to Nurhadi, is preparing three candidates to replace his subordinate, and one of them will be proposed to Jokowi for approval.

However, signs of reform resistance at the court emerged once again after spokesman Suhadi hinted that the court preferred to appoint an internal official as Nurhadi’s successor to continue his legacy as secretary and the head of an internal team to conduct reform at the court.

Court spokesman Suhadi said conducting open recruitment to fill the post left vacant by Nurhadi was a good idea, but the final decision on whether to take that route laid in the hands of court chief Hatta.

“As of today, no decision has been made. An internal candidate to replace Pak Nurhadi would be ideal because he or she will already be familiar with internal affairs at the Supreme Court,” Suhadi said.

In February, the KPK also allegedly caught red-handed Andri Tristianto Sutrisna, chief of the subdirectorate of appeals and special civil case second reviews at the court, accepting a bribe from graft convict Ichsan Suadi.

Nurhadi made headlines in early 2014 for holding a lavish wedding reception for his daughter, with iPods distributed as mementos to around 2,500 guests. (Haeril Halim)

Editor: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie