President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono finally signed the presidential decree to reinstate the two suspended Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen Sunday.
"The President has just met with Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto to tell them that they could resume working as deputies at the commission," presidential special staffer for legal affairs Denny Indrayana told detik.com.
However, Chandra said he had yet to see or receive the decree, so he did not want to comment further.
Bibit on the other hand confirmed there had been such a meeting with the President who said he had signed the decree to reinstate them.
Bibit said he would not return to work yet because he was still on leave.
"I probably will return to the office on Dec. 9."
Bibit and Chandra were suspended on Sept. 21 when they were declared suspects in an alleged abuse of power, receiving bribes from and extorting fugitive corruption suspect Anggoro Widjojo.
The accusations attracted strong public criticism, which focused on a lack of evidence and speculation that the National Police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) fabricated the charges to sabotage the commission.
Such speculations were verified after the Constitutional Court played wiretapped conversations between Anggoro's brother, Anggodo Widjojo, and several high-ranking officers at the National Police and the AGO.
The tapes revealed Anggodo telling the officers to concoct a scenario and fabricate evidence to frame the two deputies in criminal cases.
After the tapes were played, the President made a public statement saying that he preferred the case to be halted either by the police or the AGO.
The AGO finally issued a warrant ending the prosecution of Bibit and Chandra on Dec. 1 and sent it to Yudhoyono two days later.
As the conspiracy behind incrimination of Bibit and Chandra has been revealed and they have now been reinstated, expectations are mounting for the KPK to investigate not only the actors involved in the incrimination but also many other unresolved corruption cases.
Deputy coordinator of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) Emerson Yuntho expected Bibit and Chandra to address several issues once they were reinstated.
"That includes the Bank Century scandal, alleged corruption behind the election of Bank Indonesia's senior deputy governor Miranda S. Goeltom and alleged corruption at the General Elections Commission *KPU*."
Aside from investigating Anggodo's attempted bribery and obstruction of a corruption investi-gation, the KPK is currently handling the alleged bribery case at the central bank.
In relation to Anggodo's case, the KPK had summoned Ari Muladi and Edi Soemarsono who allegedly acted as case brokers and mediators in the KPK fiasco.
The antigraft commission plans to summon Anggodo in the near future.
