The KPK Saga

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) employees together with anticorruption activists hold a theatrical performance symbolizing the KPK\'s "death" at the KPK building, Jakarta, Tuesday (17/9/2019) evening. The action was held in response to the ratification of the new KPK Law by the House of Representatives and the government in a plenary session.

The controversial tale of grief and anger (saga) of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) continues. The uproar and commotion are expected to continue, even though the House of Representatives (DPR) and the government have agreed on the revisions and enacted a "new" KPK Law.

In terms of timing, the DPR’s initiative to revise Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK on 5 Sept. 2019 was not good for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. On the other hand, it appears that the time had arrived for the DPR to revise the law after its previous attempts failed in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

On one side, the reasons of the DPR, President Jokowi and the public on the need to revise the 17-year-old KPK Law can be understood. The argument is that many changes occurred during that period, so the KPK Law also needed adjusting.

Other arguments concerning the internal KPK can also be understood. The commission is considered to have become too strong (superbody). With actions that cannot be monitored, the KPK is deemed to have scared off many public officials from initiating development policies and programs.

No less problematic is the fact that the KPK’s internal administration is different from other state institutions and apparatuses. Most employees are not civil servants because it has a structure more akin to NGOs, with a type of labor union called "Wadah" (vessel). Their salaries are far higher than those of civil servants at other state commissions.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

President Joko Widodo delivers his remarks at the opening of a meeting point forum titled "Multicultural Cooperation for Unity and Justice" in Cikini, Jakarta, Wednesday (18/9/2019).

Further, there is also uproar over the KPK’s symptomatic behavior and appearance that indicate certain ideological trends that are incompatible with Indonesia’s state and national ideology. It is said that these “symptoms” have had implications in the KPK\'s selectiveness for handling figures suspected of involvement in corruption.

Presumably, such arguments and perceptions about the KPK have long been circulating in public, so that many came to see the need for improving the KPK by revising the KPK Law. This is indicated by the Kompas poll (16/9/2019), in which a greater number of respondents (44.9 percent) agreed with revising the KPK Law, while a lesser number of respondents disagreed (39.9 percent). If the majority of the people – at least according to the Kompas poll – supported revising the KPK Law, why the continuing public controversy?

Controversy over and opposition to the revised KPK Law have spread everywhere. On cursory observation, most of those opposed to the revision voted for Jokowi in the 2014 and 2019 presidential elections. It is they who have raised their voices to accuse President Jokowi of "betraying" his voters who wanted him to lead the drive to eradicate corruption to its roots, as promised.

As a result, the KPK saga could potentially harm the President: It could diminish public trust in Jokowi. However, whether this will reduce public participation in the government programs of the Joko Widodo-Ma\'ruf Amin administration for the next five years still needs analysis

One of the reasons that public trust has been undermined is that the process of revising the KPK Law was done hurriedly and on the quiet. Both the DPR, which submitted the revisions, and President Jokowi have been seen as playing catch-up in their target so as to ensure that the revised law would be completed as soon as possible.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) employees show support as KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo, deputy chairman Laode M. Syarif and deputy chairman Saut Situmorang announce that they will hand over the mandate as KPK commissioners to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the KPK building in Jakarta, Friday (13/9/2019).

This blatant rush does not align with democratic principles, which require openness. Openness and public participation are necessities in creating legislation that concern the interests of both the state and its citizens.

However, the reality was that there was no public participation. No meetings or dialogue that involved civil society and university representatives were held during the legislative process for revising the KPK Law that the DPR and the government undertook. The DPR said that it no longer needed to hear the public’s voice. Meanwhile, the government was unclear from the beginning about its stance on whether to involve the public or not. In the end, the government never asked for the people’s opinions.

Again, considering the legislative timing and procedures of the revised KPK Law, the new KPK Law could be submitted to a judicial test for materiality at the Constitutional Court. There is no guarantee that the new KPK Law would pass at the Constitutional Court.

Thus, the tug-of-war among the various parties continues. Amidst that struggle, the KPK with its new leadership – which includes a controversial figure for some citizens – goes into limbo, undermining the corruption eradication effort.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Azyumardi Azra

Moreover, with its emphasis on "prevention" rather than "prosecution", the new KPK will increasingly move towards departure from the general expectations of society. As a result, corruption may become ever more rampant, at both the national and regional levels, and involving both public officials and private sector employees.

Azyumardi Azra, Culture and Humanities professor, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University; member, Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI)