Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition, which consists of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) and Transparency International Indonesia (TII), says that the selection of the new batch of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders for the 2024-2029 period had already been conditioned (decided on in advance).
According to the Coalition, the entire selection process up until the fit and proper test was just a public courtesy.
The Coalition said that in the midst of a crisis of integrity, the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission III should have chosen candidates to lead the KPK and the KPK Supervisory Board with a good track record. What happened however, was the exact opposite.
"The selection was a public courtesy, ensuring the selection of KPK leadership candidates who can compromise on corruption", said Julius Ibrani from the PBHI in a press statement on Friday November 21.
Ibrani revealed that the selection committee (Pansel) is strongly suspected of choosing candidates affiliated with former President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. This allegation has been proven by the many candidates that had quite a good track record and commitment to eradicating corruption that were culled in the early stages of the selection process.
The selection committee instead let through names that have a bad track record. Ibrani added that the selection process gave the impression of just being a formality.
"The selection interviews conducted by the Pansel as well as the fit and proper test at the DPR's Commission III did not dig deeper into the candidates' [backgrounds], starting from non-compliance in reporting assets, assets that experienced unreasonable fluctuations, lack of integrity and potential conflicts of interest, to concrete steps in efforts to improve the KPK as an institution after the revisions to the 2019 KPK Law", said Ibrani.
Ibrani believes that the five new KPK leaders and the KPK Supervisory Board members appointed by the DPR have a bad track record. Among them is KPK Deputy Chairperson Johanis Tanak who is recorded as once communicating with Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ministry official Muhammad Idris Froyoto Sihite.
A phone chat containing the words "can we look for some money" went viral on social media. Tanak later claimed that he did not know that Sihite was the subject of a KPK investigation.
"In addition to this, in his presentation during the fit and proper test, Johanis Tanak emphasised that he would abolish the KPK's OTT [sting operations] because he believes they are not in accordance with prevailing KUHAP [Criminal Procedure Code] regulations", said Ibrani.
"The Coalition believes that Johanis Tanak is not capable of measuring the effectiveness or the corruption eradication success percentage through OTT, or is the intention in abolishing OTT because there are transaction politics with a certain person or group in order to turn the KPK into an institution that is in suspended animation in carrying out its mandate as an eradicator of corruption", he added.
Ibrani added that the composition of the KPK commissioners selected for the 2024-2029 period, which is dominated by law enforcement officials, is a challenge to reactivate the KPK trigger mechanism function. The spirit (for establishing the KPK in the first place) arose when the Attorney General's Office and the National Police were considered not effective enough in eradicating corruption.
"In fact is, the candidates chosen by the DPR are those with a track record with the Attorney General's Office of the National Police who were also not effective in eradicating corruption in their previous institutions. In fact, the Attorney General's Office and the National Police have become the institutions that commit the most corruption", said Ibrani.
In the statement, the Coalition said it regretted the Commission III's attitude of ignoring the notes on the track records of the candidates for the KPK leadership and the KPK Supervisory Board sent by the Coalition.
On Thursday, a Commission III plenary meeting determined the five new leaders of the KPK and the members of the KPK Supervisory Board for the 2024-2029 period. Prior to this, the Commission III held a fit and proper test.
In the upcoming KPK leadership positions there are the names of Setyo Budiyanto (former KPK director of investigations), Johanis Tanak (current KPK deputy chairperson), Fitroh Rohcahyanto (a prosecutor who was once the KPK's director of prosecutions), Agus Joko Pramono (former deputy chairperson of the Supreme Audit Agency or BPK) and Ibnu Basuki Widodo (a judge from the Manado High Court).
Meanwhile the seats of the KPK Supervisory Board will be filled by Chisca Mirawati (founder and managing partner of CMKP Law), Benny Mamoto (former Chairman of the National Police Commission or Kompolnas), Wisnu Baroto (prosecutor), Sumpeno (Judge at the Jakarta High Court) and Gusrizal (chair of the Samarinda High Court). (ryn/tsa)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Koalisi Sipil Duga Uji Capim KPK Sudah Dikondisikan, Cuma Basa-basi".]
