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Right of inquiry: Another bullet from Senayan
Instead of giving full support to the fight against corruption, in most graft cases, politicians have become the KPK’s enemy.
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All set – House of Representatives members attend a plenary meeting to resume the second sitting session for 2016-2017 at the House complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Nov.16. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
T
he last 10 years have seen highly intense political maneuvers dampening the spirit of anticorruption. The attacks have mostly targeted the powerful Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), especially when dealing with high-profile cases such as the current e-ID scandal.
Continuous and systematic challenges to undermine the KPK indicate the acute problem of political will in Indonesia. Instead of giving full support to the fight against corruption, in most graft cases, politicians have become the KPK’s enemy. This fact clearly shows that the fundamental problem of corruption in Indonesia is in politics.
Indonesians, however, might have to be thankful to the last presidents, both Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and currently Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. These two central figures have always come up with the best solution to secure the KPK from threats of termination. Under Yudhoyono, criminalization of KPK leaders was finally well managed as the police had to stop the case against its commissioners.
Yudhoyono also refused to revise the KPK Law as the revision would eliminate its most important authority in gathering evidence.
Jokowi has similarly backed the KPK, as lawmakers and their allies in government agencies have repeatedly tried to revise the KPK Law. Jokowi also canceled the “investigation” carried out by the police against KPK commissioners and an investigator, Novel Baswedan, who is still undergoing medical treatment following a recent acid attack against him.
In many cases, the political agenda to discourage the KPK failed due to the President’s strong support. However, repeated political “assassination” attempts targeting the KPK shows a dynamic political battle, as sometimes good politicians appear to counter actions to terminate the KPK.
Nevertheless, the President’s role in supporting the KPK does not necessarily create a good atmosphere to combat corruption. For example, the legislature’s latest decision to issue the right of inquiry against the KPK with regards to the e-ID investigation was finally approved despite the controversial process of approval. The House of Representatives stands on weak legal ground as it has authority to probe only government institutions, not the KPK, which is independent of the government.
