KPK not affected by terrorism

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JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Attacks against the houses of two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders were the ninth example of terrorism against the KPK and not all of them have been solved. The KPK is not affected by the terrorism.

Attacks against KPK leaders will not interfere with efforts to eradicate corruption by the antigraft commission. However, a number of attacks against the KPK’s leaders and personnel and against activists of the anticorruption movement must be thoroughly investigated.

Disclosure of terrorism cases is needed to enforce justice and provide a deterrent so that similar cases do not occur in the future. However, so far, the investigations into cases related to terrorism against KPK personnel or anticorruption activists have not been completed. This lack of closure often raises rumors that can be twisted by various interests.

The KPK continues to coordinate with the Indonesian National Police, who are investigating terrorism cases, the most recent of which occurred early on Wednesday (09/01/2019) morning. Attacks were directed at the houses of two KPK leaders, namely chairman Agus Rahardjo and deputy chairman Laode M. Syarif.

According to Agus, the terrorism would not frighten the KPK. "The KPK is not afraid and continues to work hard," he said.

KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah said that, if needed, the security of the KPK personnel would be strengthened.

Attacks against KPK personnel and anticorruption activists have taken place before. In April 2017, the face of KPK investigator Novel Baswedan was showered with acid. Previously, in 2010, an activist with the anticorruption movement, Tama S. Langkun, was beaten by a number of unknown people. So far, such attacks have not dampened efforts to eradicate corruption.

On the morning after their houses were terrorized, Agus Rahardjo and Laode M. Syarif showed up for work as usual.

“Today all five leaders are present in the office and are carrying out their respective jobs. We are also implementing the prosecution and prevention tasks in line with the schedule and plan,” said Febri.

Terrorism

An object suspected to be a bomb was found hanging on the fence at 7 a.m. on Wednesday at Agus Rahardjo\'s house in the Graha Indah Housing complex in Jatiasih, Bekasi, West Java by Eman, Agus\' house guard. The object was a PVC pipe in a black bag. "I immediately reported it to the Jatiasih Police station," Eman said.

The item that resembled a bomb consisted of, among other things, batteries, white powder, nails and cables. The head of the Public Information Bureau of the Public Relations Division of the National Police,

Brig. Gen. (Pol) Dedi Prasetyo, said that the elements of the object were not assembled in a way that could cause an explosion. "The cables are not connected and there are no detonators, so it is a fake bomb," he said.

On the same day, the residence of Laode M. Syarifin in Kalibata, South Jakarta, was pelted with Molotov cocktails by unknown persons. The wall above the garage of the house was blackened by the flames.

The head of the Public Relations Division of the Jakarta Police, Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono, explained that Laode’s house was hit by two bottles containing fuel, only one of which exploded.

The head of the local neighborhood community (RT), Makmun Azhari, 58, said the housing complex was relatively safe. He said the police routinely patrol in both cars and on motorbikes. Moreover, he said there are also security officers from the Kalibata subdistrict.

From Tuesday night until Wednesday at 1 a.m., several young men sat in a coffee shop not far from Laode\'s house. "We hung out until 1 a.m. and did not see any suspicious people. There were only local people passing by to throw trash," said Ulul, one of the residents.

However, in the residential complex where Laode lives, CCTV cameras are not installed. Meanwhile, four CCTVs at Agus Rahardjo\'s house did not function on Wednesday morning.

Ferianto, 54, Agus\'s neighbor, said that four cameras were not functioning because Agus\' house was being renovated. "The CCTVs usually are on all the time. They were only shut down for the past few days because of renovations,"he said.

Brig.Gen. (Pol) Dedi Prasetyo would not say whether the incidents at Agus and Laode\'s houses were related. "The team is still working and there have been no conclusions from the case," he said.

Dedi said the National Police would strengthen security at the houses of KPK leaders if there is a request from the KPK.

Nine

The chairman of the KPK Employee Group, Yudi Purnomo Harahap, said the attacks against the two KPK leaders were serious threats to the efforts to eradicate corruption, as well as a form of psychological warfare.

With these two incidents counted as one, there have now been nine attacks or attempted terrorist attacks on the KPK. The eight previous terrorist attacks included assaults on KPK facilities, bomb threats at the KPK building, bombings of investigators\' homes and acid attacks of homes and vehicles belonging to KPK employees. There were also death threats against employees and officials, theft of investigation equipment, abduction of employees on duty and attempted murder of investigators. Until now, not all terrorism perpetrators have been revealed.

An advisor to the KPK Employee Group, Nanang Farid Syam, asked the government to be more serious about dealing with the recurrent terrorism. "The involvement of the state in combating corruption is being threatened. This problem has become grave," he said.

Presidential spokesman Johan Budi said police are investigating the cases. He asserted that in a democratic country like Indonesia there must be no parties who make efforts to intimidate law enforcers. (WAD/DEA/SAN/INA/E02/ E08/ E13/ E17/ REK)

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