The Fate of the “Children” of Reform Today ...

HUMAS KPK

Deputy Chairperson of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Alexander Marwata (center) in a press conference determining the Chairperson of the Muara Enim DPRD in the KPK\'s Red and White Building, Jakarta, Monday (27/4/2020).

Two men wearing orange vests stood with their heads bowed languidly, facing a wooden wall. They stood next to the symbol of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) emblazoned on the wood.

As announced by the Corruption Eradication Commission on April 27, 2020, the two men were the suspects in a bribery case related to a project at the Public Works and Housing Agency in Muara Enim regency, South Sumatra. They were the Muara Enim Legislative Council speaker Aries HB and Muara Enim Public Works and Housing Agency acting head Ramlan Suryadi, who allegedly received bribes from a contractor.

It’s normal that the two people bowed. Since it was created through Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK, the anticorruption body has become a menace for corruptors. The KPK was born to meet the mandates of the reform movement, one of which was to eradicate corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN).

The "children" of the reform movement face unequal challenges.

The lawmakers at that time were of the opinion that corruption was an extraordinary crime and, therefore, a special commission was established whose task was to carry out extraordinary efforts to eradicate corruption. The KPK, which cannot be separated from the spirit of the reform movement, is one of the "children" of the 1998 reform movement.

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Other new institutions established after the reform movement include the Constitutional Court (MK) and the Judicial Commission (KY). Their birth was to achieve the goals of the reform movement and democratization.

More than two decades since the reform movement began, the "children" of the reform movement face unequal challenges. The challenges include existing regulations. The Corruption Eradication Commission faced the challenge in 2019, with the issuance of the new Corruption Eradication Commission through Law No. 19/2019. The law has had a significant institutional impact. A number of anti-corruption activists and academics said that the issuance of Law No. 19/2019 was a plot to weaken the KPK and the fight against corruption, rather than an effort to strengthen the KPK.

Also read : Government Credibility

Kompas/Eddy Hasbi

University students from Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi lay siege on the House of Representatives in this May 1998 file photograph. They demanded reforms and called for then-President Soeharto to step down.

The new KPK Law, among others, makes the chain of bureaucratic procedures to prosecute corruption longer. Wiretapping, confiscation and investigation must be conducted with the permission of the KPK Supervisory Board.

Since Law No. 19/2019 came into force, the KPK for the 2019-2023 period, which was installed on Dec. 20, 2019, has only made two arrests, namely the arrest of Sidoarjo Regent Saiful Ilah and the arrest of a former member of the General Elections Commission, Wahyu Setiawan.

In 2018, the previous KPK made 28 arrests. That year, the KPK named 108 suspects, carried out 128 prosecutions and executed 102 court rulings.

According to the dean of the Faculty of Law at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Sigit Riyanto, the lack of power of the anticorruption body is a threat to the mandate of the reform movement. "The current commissioners are unable to meet public expectations in the fight against corruption. The KPK is no longer the foundation of public trust," he said.

A Kompas poll in January shows that 64.2 percent of respondents considered the KPK\'s image to be good. That number dropped from July 2019 (79.6 percent), becoming the lowest since January 2015.

Also read : Floundering Early

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for the 2019-2023 period Firli Bahuri (from left to right), KPK deputy chairman Alexander Marwata, KPK deputy chairperson Lili Pintauli Siregar, KPK deputy chairman Nawawi Pomolango and KPK deputy chairman Nurul Ghfron read out the integrity pact during the office handover from KPK 2019-2023 leaders at the KPK building, Jakarta, Friday (20/12/2019).

Regarding the public perception that the KPK is weakening due to the KPK Law, KPK chairman Firli Bahuri said that the work of the KPK was not only measured from the arrest of corruptors, but from the extent to which officials have no chance to commit corruption.

"Don\'t measure the success of eradicating corruption from the many arrests," he said.

House of Representatives Commission III member Arsul Sani said Law No. 19/2019 aimed to balance prosecution and prevention. However, former KPK deputy chairman Laode M. Syarif said there was a systematic effort to weaken the KPK. One of the efforts was shown by the revision of the KPK Law. The agenda for strengthening the KPK, such as the addition of investigators, has not yet been realized.

Institutional building

As the Corruption Eradication Commission grapples with the new legal umbrella, the Constitutional Court, another “child” of the reform movement, is also awaiting its fate with the planned revision of the Constitutional Court Law initiated by the House. The contents of the draft Constitutional Court bill were considered controversial because they did not mention institutional strengthening.

It is natural for the public to wonder what the reason is for the revision of the Constitutional Court Law with such substance.

Former MK judge I Dewa Gede Palguna deplored the substance of the Constitutional Court bill for not regulating institutional strengthening of the Constitutional Court, such as procedural law of the Constitutional Court, the clarity of the requirements for prospective MK judges in recruitment and the arrangement of the Constitutional Court\'s authority in hearing the constitutional complaints of the citizens. According to him, the substance of the draft bill only aimed to please Constitutional Court judges, namely regarding the rules of the age of the judges, retirement age and extension of the leadership tenure.

"Such substance does not benefit, instead it harms the Constitutional Court […]. It is natural for the public to wonder what the reason is for the revision of the Constitutional Court Law with such substance," said Palguna.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Thousands of workers and students rally to commemorate Youth Pledge Day in the Arjuna Wijaya Horse Statue area in Jakarta on Monday (28/10/2019). They also demanded a revision of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law and rejected the draft Criminal Code Bill (RUU KUHP). The demonstrations took place in an orderly fashion.

He hoped that the Constitutional Court would be strengthened institutionally in accordance with the original purpose of the establishment of the court, namely to build a constitutional-based democratic state. The institutional strengthening of the Constitutional Court will greatly influence the growth and development of democracy.

Constitutional Law lecturer at the State University of Jember, Bayu Dwi Anggono, said that in order to safeguard the goals of the reform movement, lawmakers must commit not to reversing the mandate of the reform movement through faux democratic process. "It is important to ensure that the law does not undermine the ideals of the reform movement. Surely, there is the MK that can correct the law, but the MK itself is also facing challenges just like the KPK, which is facing attempts to weaken the fight against corruption," he said.

The public certainly hopes that there will not be a reversal of the reform agenda through the issuance of regulations.