Corruption Threat Is Real

The arrest of Sidoarjo Regent Saiful Ilah and General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner Wahyu Setiawan showed this nation that the threat of corruption is real.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

A Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officer (second right), accompanied by KPU chairman Arief Budiman (left), commissioner Lili Pintauli Siregar (second left) and spokesman Ali Fikri, shows evidence from the arrest of KPU commissioner Wahyu Setiawan for alleged bribes related to the replacement of a House of Representatives member for 2019-2024 term at the KPK Building in Jakarta, Thursday (9/1/2020).

As Prabowo Subianto once said during the presidential debates, corruption in Indonesia has entered stage four. Now, Prabowo has been appointed as the Defense Minister by President Joko Widodo. The corruption virus remains a real threat that could bankrupt this republic. World history has proved this.

Corruption appears in various forms like requesting commission, trading influence, or for the actual purpose of robbing state money, or accepting gratuities, bribes or practicing nepotism.

We convey our appreciation for the investigators of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) -- amidst the pressures they face -- to continue to uncover alleged corruption. As KPK deputy chairman Alexander Marwata has acknowledged, disclosing the two cases is a continuation of the 2019 investigation. It means that the KPK leadership of 2015-2019 had been investigating the two cases.

Marwata\'s declaration emphasized that the two arrests had not yet passed through the bureaucracy of the Supervisory Council, which was born under the revised Law No. 19/2019 on the KPK. Under Law No 19/2019, all legal actions, including wiretapping, confiscation and searches, must obtain written permission from the Supervisory Council. The explanation of the new KPK Law even states that permission for wiretapping must be preceded by a preliminary hearing with the Supervisory Council.

The KPK must be ready to face a pretrial petition.

This is the legal dilemma that the KPK is now facing. Article 70C of Law No. 19/2019 states, "While this law is in effect, all investigations, probes and prosecutions of criminal acts of corruption that have not finished their legal processes must be conducted according to the provisions as regulated in this law."

The reality is that the Supervisory Council exists as an organ. However, the operational rules are not yet available. The institutional structure is not yet fully formed. This position is a dilemma open to legal questioning. We are grateful of the KPK’s readiness to accept any lawsuits regarding the legitimacy of the arrests of the Sidoarjo Regent and KPU commissioner Wahyu Setiawan. The KPK must be ready to face a pretrial petition.

Regardless the weaknesses of Law No. 19/2019, we encourage the KPK (Supervisory Council, KPK leaders and KPK employees) to remain committed to eradicating corruption in this country. The weaknesses of the KPK Law must be addressed so that the public is not given room to relax in eradicating corruption. Anyone involved in the Sidoarjo or other KPU cases must be open and explain to the public. In theory, corruption has the potential to grow increasingly rampant with the arrival of the era of "buying and selling" democracy, a societal condition marked by a "what do I get if I do that" mindset.