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span class="caption" style="width: 398px;">All is well: Former Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center chief Yunus Husein (left) chats with Prosperous Justice Party lawmaker Lt. Gen. (ret.) Adang Daradjatun before Yunus conducts an interview in the Corruption Eradication Commission leadership selection on Wednesday. Adang’s wife, Nunun Nurbaeti, is an at-large bribery a suspect. JP/Ricky YudhistiraAdnan Pandu Praja, one of eight leader hopefuls for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), attempted to impress lawmakers by criticizing the country’s top anti-graft body.

Adnan, currently a National Police Commission member, presented what he said were many loopholes in the KPK’s current investigation-and-prosecution system when facing an interview before the House of Representatives’ law and human rights commission on Wednesday.

The interview was part of the House’ series of tests before lawmakers ultimately cast votes to pick the best among the eight to replace four KPK leaders.

“The KPK’s transparency level is currently low. Every process at the KPK should have been open to assure the public that it enforced the law without exception,” Adnan said before lawmakers.

There were, however, less than 30 out of 54 members of the House’s law commission attending the meeting.

“There has been no such performance audit to asses whether the KPK has been professional in conducting its duties or not,” Adnan added.

While observers have not tipped Adnan as a front runner, analysts believe that the lawyer might emerge as a dark horse candidate.

An Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker who declined to be named said most factions at the House shifted their support from Arianto Sutadi to Adnan.

Adnan has been deemed much cleaner than Arianto, a retired police general who critics said had a
poor track record and integrity problems. “His status as a [commission] member can also be seen as a representation of the police,” the lawmaker said.

The lawmaker said many PDI-P lawmakers, however, still supported Arianto.

Since the KPK’s establishment in 2003, two of its five leaders have been picked from the ranks of current and former prosecutors and police officers.

The second candidate interviewed on Wednesday was front runner Yunus Husein, the former chief of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK).

Nothing was special about Yunus’ presentation, Golkar lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo said, “except his promise to accelerate and finish the investigation into the dubious Rp 6.76 trillion (US$743.6 million) in the ailing Bank Century in 2008.”

Responding to Bambang, Yunus said would have the courage to summon President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono and Vice President Boediono for questioning about the bailout.

Yunus, also a member of the presidential judicial mafia taskforce, has the support of Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party and most of other parties in the government coalition.

However, Golkar and other opposition parties have described Yunus as “too close to those in power”.

“We are afraid he would not be brave to probe cases implicating powerful figures close to the President,” Bambang said.

The members of the commission grilled two other candidates, KPK advisor Abdullah Hehamahua and KPK internal affairs director Handoyo Sudrajat, on Tuesday.

On Monday, members interviewed Makassar-based lawyer Abraham Samad and Arianto.

On Thursday, lawmakers will grill the remaining two candidates, senior prosecutor Zulkarnaen and front runner anti-graft activist Bambang Widjojanto.