The inability to solve the case of an acid attack on Novel Baswedan has certainly shaken the sense of public justice.
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ANTARA FOTO/Wahyu Putro A
KPK chairman Agus Raharjo (second from right) with former KPK chairman Abraham Samad (third from right) and former KPK deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas, give an address after holding a meeting at the KPK headquarters in Jakarta on Tuesday (31/10). The meeting was held to provide input to the KPK on their proposal to form a joint fact-finding team (TPGF) in relation to the acid attack on senior KPK investigator Novel Baswedan, which, 202 days after the attack, remains unsolved.
The inability to solve the case of an acid attack on an investigator from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Novel Baswedan, has certainly shaken the sense of public justice.
It is natural that many have questioned the seriousness of the National Police and government in investigating the attack that took place on April 11. It has been 207 days since the assault against Novel and the circumstances remain a mystery.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in his rhetoric has shown a very strong commitment to continue strengthening the KPK. However, despite the President’s instructions the efforts by National Police chief Gen. (Pol.) Tito Karnavian seem to not to have moved forward.
Shortly after the incident, President Jokowi reacted strongly. As quoted by this daily on April 12, the President said, "Don\'t let a man who has shown such a firm determination be injured in an uncivilized way. Violence like this should not happen again." On the same day Vice President Jusuf Kalla said there was an indication that those who threw the acid at Novel were paid by high-level corrupt persons (Kompas, April 12, 2017).
A number of anticorruption activists around the State Palace, such as Johan Budi (presidential spokesman and former KPK commissioner), Teten Masduki (presidential chief of staff and former coordinator of Indonesia Corruption Watch) should have been able to give input to President Jokowi about what had to be carried out in the context of strengthening the KPK and investigating Novel\'s case.
The idea of establishing a joint fact-finding team (TGPF) is logical given that the National Police have not yet been willing to move forward in the investigation. As admitted by National Police spokesman Sr. Insp. Martinus Sitompul, the National Police have difficulties in gathering witnesses and evidence in connection with the acid attack on Novel.
The KPK appears to be the badly behaved child of the Reform era. With all the weaknesses of the KPK, the spirit of the KPK in eradicating corruption is not welcomed by the political elite who feel uncomfortable about the actions of the KPK. The KPK has also been criticized for becoming a political tool in the eradication of corruption. However, the acid attack on the KPK investigator is an unacceptably brutal event.
The state has to prove its willingness to protect its officials trying to combat corruption by resolving the case. As stated in the Nawacita declaration the state must be there. The state should not be defeated by the efforts by corrupt agents to weaken the KPK politically, legally or through physical attacks. It appears unjust that those who would attack fighters against corruption seem to be protected and critics of corruption are even threatened and hunted down by law enforcers.
