The House of Representatives (DPR) is conducting an absurd political step when the factions supporting the government actively use the right of inquiry against the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Nearly all factions supporting the government, such as the Golkar Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the NasDem Faction, the United Development Party, and Hanura Party, have sent their members to the Committee of the Inquiry Right. The government-supporting factions that have not sent their members are the National Mandate Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB). Meanwhile, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Gerindra and the Democratic Party outside the government also have not sent their members to the committee.
The DPR\'s political step is indeed absurd because the essence of the right of inquiry is to investigate government policies that violate the law. No one doubts the authority of the DPR to form the Committee of Inquiry, but it is absurd when it is the factions supporting the government who are encouraging the use of the right of inquiry against the KPK.
The KPK is not an object that can be a target of the DPR to file a right of inquiry. The KPK is an independent law enforcement agency working under the law. The KPK is now investigating the alleged involvement of a number of DPR members in a corruption case surrounding electronic ID cards. It is estimated the case caused the state to suffer losses of more than Rp 2 trillion. House Speaker Setya Novanto has been banned from travelling abroad. The trial of the case is already underway.
The maneuver of the DPR\'s inquiry right, proposed by factions supporting the government, can be read as the DPR\'s defense mechanism from corruption investigations. The recklessness of the DPR leadership to go ahead with the inquiry right, even though its procedure of decision making in the plenary session is flawed and still continues the use of the inquiry right even though not all factions sent their members, constitutes a naked political arbitrariness. The public also does not support the right of inquiry. A Kompas survey confirms this. In the virtual world, a petition to reject the inquiry right on Change.org, initiated by Virgo Sulianto Gohardi, has reached 39,544 supporters.
The political energy of this nation should not be wasted with the inquiry right against the KPK. The intension of the DPR to demand that the KPK release the recording of Miriam Haryani\'s examination cannot be granted by the KPK without a court decision. Meanwhile, Miriyam has pleaded for the pretrial and the judge has decided it. The inquiry right against the KPK constitutes a kind of misplaced political action on the part of the DPR. It would not be wrong if President Joko Widodo calls the general chairmen of the political parties supporting the government to discuss the inquiry right issue and ask what is the target of the use of the inquiry right against the KPK.