In Search of New KPK Leaders

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

The Anticorruption Civil Society Coalition demonstrate outside the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) office in Jakarta on Jan. 15, 2015 to demand that the attack on KPK investigator Novel Baswedan be resolved. The investigation into the attack on Novel has been going on for almost two years.

The term of office of the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) fourth leadership group, which is chaired by Agus Rahardjo, will end on Dec. 19, 2019. Replacing the KPK leaders requires a lot of strategy.

The selection of KPK leaders comes at a time of political transition. President Joko Widodo promised to announce the KPK leadership selection committee this weekend.

Proper time management in the selection process is important because the selection of candidates for KPK leadership will be carried out toward the end of the term of office of House of Representatives (DPR) members for the 2014-2019 period on Oct. 1, 2019. Discussions on candidates for KPK leaders whose roles are very strategic need to be done carefully but also quickly. The new House leaders will be installed on Oct. 1, 2019, which is close to the end of the KPK leaders’ term on Dec. 19, 2019.

The candidates for the fifth group of KPK leadership will determine the face of corruption eradication in the future. There are several things that must be given attention. First, there is little support from the political elite for the KPK and combating corruption is not an issue of priority within political circles. Vishnu Juwono in the book Fighting Against Corruption-Corruption Eradication History in Indonesia from 1945 to 2014 concluded that the barriers and resistance of interest groups and law enforcement agencies in corruption eradication showed that the social, political and economic structures that want to maintain corruption remain largely intact.

KOMPAS/ALIF ICHWAN

The Year-End Press Conference on the performance of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), led by chairman Agus Rahardjo (second left), accompanied by KPK deputy chairman Saut Situmorang (from left to right), Laode Muhammad Syarif and Alexander Marwata, is held at the KPK building in Jakarta on Dec. 19,2018. Since the establishment of the institution, the financial statements of the KPK have always received an unqualified opinion. Likewise with the Government Agency Performance Accountability Report (LAKIP), for the past seven years, the KPK has earned an A, Agus explained.

Resistance to the KPK and the anticorruption movement still exists in Indonesia. Corrupt officials, threatened by the KPK and wanting to maintain the establishment, favor the idea of weakening the KPK politically or through intimidation of its leaders. In this situation, one of the main resources for corrupt officials comes in the form of economic patronage, which helps conservative figures and oligarchs weaken corruption eradication.

The second challenge being faced by candidates for the fifth era of KPK leadership lies in the dynamics between KPK commissioners and employees. The term of office for a commissioner is only four years, while employees have much longer terms. Lately, there have been frequent internal struggles that could potentially weaken the KPK as an institution.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators display evidence in the form of more than Rp 8 billion in cash, which was found inside 84 boxes while KPK deputy chairperson Basariah Panjaitan (seated) gives information on the operation at the KPK office in Jakarta on March 28, 2019. A House of Representatives (DPR) member from the Golkar Party faction, Bowo Sidik Pangarso, has been charged with accepting bribes from Humpuss Transportasi Kimia to facilitate fertilizer deliveries.

The next group of KPK leaders will work alongside President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo\'s administration. As such, we recommend that President Jokowi, who does not have a record of corruption, focus on human development, especially anticorruption endeavors. If there is a common goal to build Indonesia without corruption, the President can work with the KPK and other law enforcement tools to truly develop Indonesia into a corrupt-free state.