The Jakarta Globe, September 29, 2012
A proposal by some lawmakers to strip the Corruption Eradication Commission of some of its powers and make it answerable to another body has sparked an intense political debate.
The proposal is contained in a bill drafted by House of Representatives Commission III — which oversees legal affairs — that amends the 2002 law giving the antigraft agency known as the KPK its powers to investigate corruption cases.
Under the bill, the KPK will be denied the authority to conduct prosecutions on its own or wiretap suspects. The agency will also be subordinate to a supervisory body that has yet to be named.
The move to curb the KPK has prompted angry reactions from several quarters, including from former Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, who said in frustration that Indonesia should disband the KPK if the only alternative was to weaken it through legislation.
“If the KPK law should be revised, the purpose should be to give it more power — but not less,” Sutarto said. “If the KPK’s power were trimmed, it would become a meaningless institution like many others.”
Indonesia Corruption Watch spokesman Emerson Yuntho said that if the bill sought to weaken the KPK, his organization would lead a nationwide movement to protect the antigraft agency.
“And ICW will reveal the names of those legislators — who have been insisting on amending the KPK law — to their constituencies so they won’t be elected again,” Emerson said.
The bill received a mixed reaction from lawmakers. Dimyati Natakusumah, deputy chairman of the House’s Legislation Committee, was quoted by media on Friday as saying that he would never approve of any legislation that would weaken the KPK because that would “hurt the feelings of society.”
The United Development Party (PPP) politician said that the legislation body has the right to recommend a draft bill be deliberated in a plenary session. But “without the approval from us, no draft bill can go any further.”
As controversy over the issue escalated on Friday, the Indonesian Democracy Party of Struggle (PDI-P) reiterated the stance it has held since July, that the time is not right to amend the KPK law. PDI-P spokesman Ahmad Basarah, the only dissenting voice on Commission III, said that if forcibly pushed through, the proposed revision would not be objective or clear.
But fellow Commission III member Ahmad Yani, a spokesman for the PPP, said the public should have an open mind in considering the proposed legislation.
The purpose, he said, is to strengthen the functions of the police and public prosecutors. To do so, the authority to conduct wire tapping and prosecution should be returned to courts and public prosecutors respectively.
But analysts said the argument was illogical given the KPK is a well-established body. As a state institution, KPK reports to the president, the House of Representatives and the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).
The Golkar Party took a more nuanced position. Spokesman Nudirman Munir said the party believed the KPK should not be deprived of its prosecution and phone taping authority, but that there must be clearer rules surrounding the terms of office of its leadership.
Earlier this month, the National Police withdrew 20 investigators assigned to work for the KPK before their mandated terms expired. The action followed the launching of a KPK investigation into police driving simulator procurement irregularities allegedly involving Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, who refused to comply with a antigraft agency summons on Friday.
As the KPK grapples with the search for replacements, it is fighting to defends its powers against legislators who believe it needs to be restrained.
So intense is the political tug of war that KPK chairman Abraham Samad said he would rather quit the job than see his agency weakened by the proposed legislation.
After Abraham made the remark, Constitutional Court chairman Mahfud MD and former Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Hasyim Muzadi visited him to offer moral support.
Mahfud told journalists that he and Muzadi had gone to “pray that Samad be strengthened and not quit the job.” Mahfud added that there is no need to revise the KPK law and if it should be amended, the only purpose should be to give it more power.
Before the steps to weaken KPK came to light, the agency had announced that it would soon reveal the names of cabinet ministers involved in graft cases.
KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto said that before the end of the year, at least one minister still in office would be indicted for involvement in graft.
Echoing that statement, Abraham said he did not care whether a suspect was a minister, a military general, or another person of high standing. If the person violates the law, Abraham said, the KPK would take stern and decisive action.
On Sept. 19, former Vice President Jusuf Kalla testified in a parliamentary hearing on the government bailout of Bank Century, which cost the state up to Rp 6.7 trillion ($700 million).
Lawmakers were divided after Kalla’s testimony. Some called on the KPK to investigate the case, which would likely involve the nation’s top officials, while others insisted that the KPK law should be revised before it could conduct the investigation.
But analysts say the recent actions of House Commission III show that people seeking to curb corruption eradication efforts are powerful enough to persuade lawmakers to propose legislation that would secure their ill-gotten fortunes.
In its decade-long existence, the KPK has enjoyed high public standing as it probed some of the nation’s most powerful institutions. A public donations campaign earlier this year raised a substantial amount of money for expanded office space after the House denied a funding request.
za 29 sep 2012 - 19:53