National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian (left) is accompanied by deputy police chief Comr. Gen. Syafruddin as he takes part in a hearing with the House Commission III in the Senayan legislative compound in Jakarta on Wednesday (12/10). The commission has proposed the formation of a special police detachment for anticorruption, which appears to overlap the existing anti-graft authorities of the Corruption Eradication Commission, the prosecutors’ office and the National Police.
The House of Representatives evidently wishes to eradicate the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). After the establishment of the House’s Inquiry Committee on the KPK, there are now plans to establish an Anti-Corruption Special Detachment within the National Police.
Plans for the special detachment are, in fact, nothing new. The House made the same proposal in 2013 when the National Police was led by Gen. Sutarman, who rejected the idea. Instead, Sutarman wished to strengthen the existing corruption eradication agencies, including the KPK, the police and the prosecutors’ office.
Despite the existence of the KPK, the police and the prosecutors’ office can still tackle corruption cases. However, it seems that House Commission III is engaging in favoritism when it proposed that the National Police be strengthened in its corruption eradication role by establishing the Anti-Corruption Special Detachment. This idea may potentially lead to clashes between the National Police, the KPK and the prosecutors’ office.
The police currently have an authority to investigate corruption cases. The prosecutors’ offices can launch investigations and take legal action on corruption cases. The KPK, assisted by the police and the prosecutors’ office, can also launch investigations and take legal action on corruption cases. What, then, is the authority of the Anti-Corruption Special Detachment?
If the proposed detachment merely functions as a body within the National Police to reinforce corruption eradication efforts, surely there is no need for the House to deliberate the issue and to propose amendments to the Prosecution Law, the KPK Law and the Police Law. Reorganizing the National Police will suffice, including strengthening the National Police’s Anti-Corruption Directorate, changing its name and increasing its budget and number of personnel. Then, in line with Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK, the National Police and the prosecutors’ office can work together and share their roles with the KPK in a massive fight against corruption.
Presidential spokesman Johan Budi SP said that the President had reaffirmed his support for any efforts that aimed to accelerate corruption eradication by synergizing existing law enforcement agencies instead of undermining them.
The President’s stance is in line with People’s Consultative Assembly Decree No. XI/MPR/1998 on clean state administrators that are free of corruption, collusion and nepotism. Article 2 of the decree stipulates that state administrations in the executive, the legislative and the judiciary must carry out their duties properly and be responsible to the people, the nation and the country. In order to carry out their duties, state administrators must be honest, fair, open, trustworthy and able to free themselves of corruption, collusion and nepotism.
Don’t talk about strengthening corruption eradication efforts, when what you really want to do is undermine the KPK and protect corrupt people or to be freer in your own corrupt activities.
