Discussing KPK Pansel Candidates, Palace is Expected to Choose an Independent Figure with Integrity

The KPK leadership committee must be filled with figures with integrity. If not, it will be difficult to find KPK leaders who also have integrity.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

President Joko Widodo received a visit from the selection committee for potential leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Monday (2/9/2019). During the occasion, the selection committee officially submitted 10 names of potential leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission who have been filtered through a series of selections.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Istana has begun preparing a number of names to be selected as members of the selection committee for leadership candidates and the Supervisory Board of the Corruption Eradication Commission and is targeting completion before the end of this month. It is hoped that the Palace will choose a figure with integrity and independence as a member of the pansel. Apart from having a clean track record, the figure chosen is expected to have no political interests.

When contacted in Jakarta, Thursday (9/5/2024), Special Staff Coordinator President Anak Agung Gde Ngurah Ari Dwipayana said that the selection committee (pansel) for leadership candidates (capim) and the Council The supervisor (Dewas) KPK will be announced this month. "The names of prospective members of the KPK committee and Dewas are still being discussed by taking into account the community's hopes of getting credible and integrity committee members," he said.

Ari revealed that the selection committee consists of nine members appointed by the president. Five of them are from government elements and the other four are selected from the community.

Also read: When the Corruption Eradication Commission's Integrity is Increasingly Worrying

When contacted separately, researcher from the Center for Anti-Corruption Studies at Gadjah Mada University, Zaenur Rohman, stated that the selection committee for candidates for leadership and the Supervisory Board of the Corruption Eradication Commission should be dominated by members of the community, not representatives of the government. This is important to ensure independence.

KOMPAS/NINO CITRA ANUGRAHANTO

A researcher from the Anti-Corruption Study Center at Gadjah Mada University, Zaenur Rohman, gave a statement to journalists regarding the rejection of revisions to the KPK Law, in Tugu Yogyakarta, on Tuesday (17/9/2019).

In addition, the selection committee for future leadership candidates and the KPK Supervisory Board must also be filled with individuals who have integrity and a clean track record. It is important that they do not have legal or political partisan issues or interests. Candidates for leadership positions should also not have views that contradict the principles of eradicating corruption.

"If the selection committee for the KPK leadership candidates lacks integrity and ethical flaws, don't expect the elected KPK leaders to have integrity. So, the committee will reflect the selected commissioners," said Zaenur.

The capim and KPK Supervisory Board selection committees are expected to be willing to accept, listen to, and consider public input. "Don't assume that the committee has information sources from the state apparatus, and then they proceed on their own. In fact, it is the state apparatus that should be watched out for by the selection committee," he emphasized firmly.

If the selection committee for the KPK leadership candidates lacks integrity and has ethical flaws, do not expect the elected KPK leadership to have integrity. Therefore, the selection committee will reflect the integrity of the elected commissioner.

Zaenur reminded that all parties have interests in the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Therefore, in choosing candidates for leaders and supervisors of KPK in the future, the selection committee must prioritize input from the community as a consideration. Because the community is the party that has experience and interacts with the candidates for KPK leadership positions. The community knows who has a bad track record and problematic past records.

The selection committee for candidates and supervisors of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is also expected not to set quotas in choosing KPK leadership candidates. This is because Law Number 19 of 2019 regarding the KPK does not regulate quotas in the selection of KPK leadership candidates. "So, the views of the KPK candidate selection committee must be neutral. The KPK candidate selection committee should not seem to direct the inclusion of representatives from the police or prosecutor's office. The selected KPK leader candidates must be of quality, integrity, neutrality, as well as have the capability and capacity," said Zaenur.

Integrity means that the KPK candidate does not have any ethical flaws, let alone criminal violations. Neutrality means that the KPK candidate has no interest, especially partisan political interests. "The task of the KPK is to become a corruption eradicator, including to exercise control over power that deviates in the form of corruption," said Zaenur.

The Dean of the Faculty of Law at Brawijaya University, Aan Eko Widiarto, emphasizes that the selection committee for KPK candidates must be independent and have no affiliations or connections, especially with the president. This is because if the selected committee members are close with the president, it will be very difficult for the selection process to produce KPK leaders with integrity.

"A person selected as a panel committee should represent their competency or scientific field and professionalism. "The point is that zakenpansel is not a selection committee that is chosen because it is close to the president and has a relationship or emotional closeness with the president," said Aan.

Aan also reminds us that the biggest challenge in the selection of KPK leaders is the process of testing their eligibility and suitability as well as the selection in the DPR. This is because, with their authority, the DPR can choose KPK leaders according to certain parties' orders. The DPR can also choose KPK leaders who have been lobbying them since the beginning of the parliamentary selection process.

Election impact

The Chairman of Indonesia Calls 57+ Institutes, Mochamad Praswad Nugraha, reminds that the various issues that have made the KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission) weak during this period are one of the impacts of the appointment of the KPK leadership in 2019, who have a bad track record.

Two leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) have been caught up in ethical issues during this period, namely Lili Pintauli Siregar and Firli Bahuri. In fact, Firli has been declared a suspect in a case of extortion involving former Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo by the Metro Jaya Regional Police.

According to Praswad, the president's attitude towards the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will be determined by the selection process for KPK leadership candidates (capim), including in determining the selection committee. If a problematic capim is still chosen, it means that there has been no change since the selection of KPK leadership candidates in 2019. At that time, Praswad as Head of the Advocacy of KPK Employee Forum had conveyed all information regarding the track record of KPK leadership candidates, but there was no follow-up action.

In 2019, KPK employees created a petition to reject problematic candidates for KPK leadership. Firli Bahuri was one of them. Firli, a former Deputy for Enforcement at the KPK, was indicated to have violated the KPK's code of ethics before being returned to the Indonesian National Police.

Also read: Firli Bahuri Named as Suspect in Alleged Extortion Case

Firli is suspected of playing tennis with Tuanku Guru Bajang Zainul Majdi, who at that time held the position of Governor of West Nusa Tenggara. The meeting occurred when the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was investigating allegations of corruption in the divestment of PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara to PT Amman Mineral Internasional, and Zainul was one of the parties needed for testimony.

Praswad, who is a former investigator at the Corruption Eradication Commission, emphasized that the process of selecting candidates for the KPK commissioner is a momentum for President Joko Widodo in the end of his term to choose a good KPK commissioner as his last legacy.