Novel Baswedan, a senior investigator of the Corruption Eradication Commission, has finally returned to the country. However, he has not fully recovered from the attack.
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Kompas/Alif Ichwan
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) senior investigator Novel Baswedan (second left) talks with former KPK chairman Abraham Samad (third right) as KPK deputy chairman Laode M Syarif (right) looks during Novel’s visit to the KPK building in Jakarta on Thursday. Novel, who was attacked with acid, recently returned from Singapore where he had undergone eye surgery.
Novel Baswedan, a senior investigator of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), has finally returned to the country. However, he has not fully recovered from the attack.
Novel still has to undergo a number of checks and treatments, especially to restore his left eye, which is now defective. He fell victim to an attack by an unknown person on April 11, 2017, more than 10 months ago, near his home.
Like the handling of his health, the handling of the attack case against Novel has not been completed yet. It even seems to be stagnant. The public has not been informed about any progress made in the case. In fact, before becoming a KPK investigator, Novel was an officer at the National Police. The case of the acid attack against him is being handled by the police.
However, whatever the cause, details of the investigation have not been revealed. The police are in many cases very quick and professional to unravel cases, but this case is different. A number of pieces of evidence and testimonies have been delivered. However, the case is still in the dark.
This uncertainty had sparked suspicion and various allegations in society. Moreover, due to Novel’s work in the KPK, there was tension between the anti-corruption institution and the police. Novel was even charged by the police on suspicion of shooting a suspect in a swiftlet birds theft in Bengkulu in 2004. The case was dropped.
The demand by a number of circles calling on the government to form a fact-finding team (TGPF) can be read as a form of community anger against the slowness of disclosure in this case. Moreover, the terror against Novel has repeatedly occurred, such as when he was hit by a car in 2016 when he was riding his motorcycle on his way to the KPK.
The fight against corruption in this country should not depend on someone, including Novel. He also does not want to be praised too much. However, Novel and his family deserve justice through the police\'s efforts to reveal the perpetrators of the attack. The attack case against Novel should not disappear, like the cases of terror to other anticorruption activists, which still remain unclear. The lack of clarity on the settlement of terror that afflicts anticorruption activists can slowly undermine people\'s trust in the authorities and the government, and in turn this could lead to community apathy in fighting corruption.
In an interview with Kompas in Singapore, Novel said he believed it was not difficult for the police to reveal the mastermind behind the attack on him (Kompas, 25/7/2017). People\'s excitement over Novel\'s homecoming, including through social media, which made #Novel a trending topic, shows that the public is in fact longing for justice. People are also enraged over corruption.
Novel is just a symbol that people are not afraid to fight corruption. People are not tired of eradicating corruption. This enthusiasm should be properly answered by the government.
