Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Agus Rahardjo, with PBNU chairman Said Aqil Siradj and PP Muslimat NU head of Foreign Relations Yenny Wahid (from left to right) raises his hands after holding a joint press conference at the KPK building in Jakarta on Tuesday (11/7). PBNU leaders visited the KPK to voice their support for the KPK.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Ignoring the outpouring of public support for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and public rejection of the House of Representatives (DPR) Inquiry Committee poses a great risk of the issue spiraling out of control. The government and DPR need to meet to seek a solution to save the KPK from the threat of its weakening or dissolution.
The position of the President and the steps he will take in this matter are also increasingly necessary. The reason is thata discourse on revising Law No. 33/2002 on the KPK has emerged through one of the final recommendations of the Inquiry Committee.
The discourse on revising the KPK law appeared during a hearing between the Inquiry Committee and criminal law expert Romli Atmasasmita at the Legislative Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday (11/7). Romli, who was on the expert team that initiated the birth of the KPK, asked the revision not to dissolve the KPK.
Such a discourse has emerged several times, but has always been rejected by the public,who fears the revisions would only weaken the KPK.
As the discourse on revising the KPK law appeared at the Inquiry Committee meeting, the KPK received a visit from the General Chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU), Said Aqil Siroj. KPK leaders met with Said, who was accompanied by PBNU chairman Robikin Emhas, Muslimat NU Central Board chairperson Yenny Wahid, and PBNU Institute for Human Resource Research and Development chairman Rumadi Ahmad.
"Upon indications that certain parties want to weaken the KPK, with a possible target to even dissolve it, the PBNU has felt the need to intervene. This hurts the people," Said said after meeting with KPK leaders.
Growing support
This gesture of support from the PBNU is not the only one the KPK has received since the establishment of the inquiry committee against the commission. On June 14, the Association of State Administration Lecturers also expressed its support for the KPK and rejected the inquiry committee. A day later, artists grouped under the Sane Indonesia Movement made a similar statement.
On June 19, hundreds of professors from universities across Indonesia expressed their stance to support the KPK and rejecting the inquiry. The Civil Society Coalition to Reject the Inquiry Against the KPK stated the same on July 5. Two days later, a similar statement of support was given by the Alumni Association of the University of Indonesia (UI) and the UI Student Executive Board.
Seeing the growing support for the KPK and rejection of the inquiry committee, Muhammadiyah Executive Board general chairman Haedar Nashir called on the DPR to rethink the real purpose of the inquiry into the KPK. "The DPR should not think to dismantle the KPK\'s authority, let alone intend to dissolve it," he said.
If the DPR uncovers a number of issues related to the KPK, Haedar suggested, they could be resolved by a joint meeting asking the KPK to clean up their act. The KPK could also take advantage of this momentum to further improve its performance by listening to public criticism.
"It is better for the President to meet the DPR leadership. This inquiry issue is very crucial and a way out of it is needed to save the KPK. This problem could become a bola liar [wild ball] which, if it is met with other problems, it can branch out to exacerbate the nation’s burden," Haedar said.
A similar thought was shared by Abdul Fickar Hadjar, a criminal law lecturer at Trisakti University. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, he said,had to take political steps by establishing communication with political party leadership, because the President has no authority to stop the process of the right of inquiry.
Discussions with party officials needed to be undertaken because the idea to use the right of inquiry was raised and approved by a number of parties that support the President. "Political and informal steps will be more effective and most likely at the present time. The reason is the, if this is left and leads to the weakening and dissolution of the KPK, it will be a bad record of the Jokowi government," said Fickar.
Revision of KPK Law
Romli and several members of the House’s inquiry committee, on Tuesday proposed revising the KPK Law after they disclosed a number of violations allegedly conducted by the KPK during the process of eradicating corruption.
Through the revision, according to Romli, an independent supervisory council of the KPK needed to be established by the President.
Romli also proposed the granting of equal authority to other law enforcement institutions, such the police and prosecutors\' office, in eradicating corruption. At present, he said, the KPK had taken over the greater portion of corruption eradication in its capacity as a trigger mechanism. "The authority and budget must be the same, so that no institution is superior to another," he said.
"After the police and prosecutors\' office are better, effective, and with the same authority, then we will reevaluate, whether we still need this KPK institution,”he added.
However, Inquiry Committee deputy chairman Taufiqulhadi from the Nasdem Party said that for now, the committee remained focused on a number of violations and misappropriations allegedly committed by the KPK. The final recommendation drawn from the results of the inquiry committee’s investigation would not necessarily lead to a revision of the KPK law, he said.
KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah highlighted the commission had repeatedly explained the various issues recently raised by the inquiry committee ata hearing with the House.
Amid the inquiry committee’s probe, the KPK is continuing to investigate a number of corruption cases, including the case of the electronic identity (e-ID) cards. In connection with its investigation into the e-ID case, the KPK on Tuesday requested information from the inquiry committee chairman, Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa. He was questioned in his former capacity as chairman of House Commission II on domestic affairs from 2012-2014.
After his questioning as a witness, Agun commented that the KPK investigators were professional when requesting information from him. "The earlier examination and the present one were the same. That is, normal. Was there pressure, was there coercion? I feel it was all as usual," he said.
