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EDITORIAL: The never-say-die KPK
The KPK seems to never say die when hunting people who it believes are guilty of corruption, due to evidence collected and confessions extracted from witnesses.
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Under investigation: Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators shows money confiscated during the recent arrest of Nganjuk regent Taufiqurrahman in a press conference attended by KPK deputy chairwoman Basaria Panjaitan in Jakarta on Oct.26. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
T
he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has been down several times in its attempts to bring corruption suspects to justice, as in the case of the South Jakarta District Court’s recent decision to declare House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto’s prosecution legally flawed. But the antigraft body is clearly not out.
KPK investigators arrested on Wednesday Taufiqurrahman, Nganjuk Regent, in a sting operation. The KPK will charge him with accepting bribes relating to the rotation of officials in the East Java regency administration.
It was the second investigation launched against the regent after KPK arraigned the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician last December for his alleged role in graft pertaining to construction projects in the regency in 2009. At the time, Taufiqurrahman, serving his second term and backing his wife’s bid to succeed him as regent in next year’s election, challenged the KPK’s move in court.
The South Jakarta District Court granted Taufiqurrahman’s pretrial motion last March, ordering the KPK to hand over the investigation to the Attorney General’s Office.
Taufiqurrahman was the fourth official who managed to slip through the KPK’s fingers on the grounds of procedural violations after a court battle. Previously, the sole candidate for the National Police chief post Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, Supreme Audit Agency chief Hadi Poernomo and Makassar Mayor Ilham Arief Sirajuddin beat the KPK at pretrial hearings.
In Ilham’s case, however, the KPK persevered, given the solid evidence against the mayor. It launched a new investigation and sent the NasDem politician to prison.
The Jakarta Corruption Court found him guilty of enriching himself in a case related to a city tap water company and sentenced him to six years in prison. The Supreme Court, however, reduced the sentence to four years in October last year.
The KPK seems to never say die when hunting people who it believes are guilty of corruption, due to evidence collected and confessions extracted from witnesses.
The failure to prosecute Taufiqurrahman last March, therefore, was by no means the end of the story for the KPK.
Shifting to other corruption cases to ensnare the politician was just another path that took the KPK to Rome. While this strategy worked, it only shows that corrupt people will not stop at one act of graft.
Such a phenomenon has been evident in numerous cases in which the KPK brought the same suspects to justice in different cases. The most prominent ones include Muhammad Nazaruddin, a former Democratic Party politician, who has stood trial twice and is now serving 13 years in prison with more graft charges outstanding.
The KPK will undoubtedly never let fraudsters sleep well and will chase them wherever they go. Both Taufiqurrahman and Ilham found their celebrations cut short. In its fight against corrupt officials, the KPK, hopefully, will be the one who has the last laugh.
