Arghea Desafti Hapsari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 05/25/2010 9:54 AM
A special committee tasked with selecting a chairman for the antigraft body officially opened registration for candidates Monday, but criticism over its selection criteria is mounting.
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said Monday the selection committee should have a profile of the ideal leader for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) before opening recruitment.
However, the committee has yet to communicate its vision of an ideal KPK leader to the public, ICW researcher Febridiansyah told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
He acknowledged that several committee members had voiced their criteria of the new KPK leader, but said that, “what we have been hearing is very general. The committee has yet to break the criteria down to better understand what constitutes, for example, integrity.”
He added the committee members had only mentioned the criteria for the KPK leader as stipulated in the 2002 KPK Law, but did not go into detail.
The law requires a KPK leader to be capable, honest, of high moral integrity and of good reputation. It also bans selected leaders from doubling as political party officials.
The selection committee is scheduled to open registration for the candidacy of the KPK leader today; less than three weeks after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono named the committee members.
The committee is comprised of nine members from various professional backgrounds, including Todung Mulya Lubis, Ahmad Syafii Maarif, Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, Rhenald Kasali, Hariyadi B. Sukamdani and Ichlasul Amal.
The committee chairman, Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar, in May said that candidates who were financially established were preferable. Many have slammed the proposed standard as irrelevant.
Febridiansyah said the committee should scrutinize the candidates’ track records. He also recommended a closer look into candidates’ special ties with businesses or corrupt politicians.
“The mafia in businesses, the legal system and in the political scene should be not be eligible,” he added. Many lawyers are known to be involved in judicial corruption practices.
He singled out a member of the presidential advisory board, Jimly Asshidiqie, to make the right choice for the post.
Febridiansyah said that if the new KPK leader was an advocate, he would be able to help reveal the dark side of the profession.
Benny K. Harman, chairman of the House of Representatives’ Commission III overseeing legal affairs, however, said he preferred someone from the Attorney General’s Office (AGO).
“The KPK needs someone from the AGO,” he told the Post.
He also gave several selection criteria for the new KPK leader, including integrity, the courage
to eradicate corruption and independence.
“Integrity can be measured by the candidates’ track records and how they went about in their previous workplaces,” he said.
Febridiansyah also criticized the committee for its passive recruitment policies.
“Instead of opening recruitment, they should have gone out and scouted promising candidates. There are a lot of people with integrity who won’t register themselves in an open recruitment,” he said.
