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mid a large-scale, systematic campaign from corruptors, their powerful allies and their beneficiaries to weaken and eliminate the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the antigraft body was declared one of five recipents of the prestigous annual Magsaysay Award on Wednesday.

Such international endorsement is very timely for the commission, which apparently can only depend on the support of the Indonesian people for its survival.

Being awarded Asia'€™s equivalent of the Nobel Prize is testament to the persistence of the nearly 10-year old commission in fighting graft, which has made it the most credible and respected state institution in the country.

It is a major acknowledgement of those still working for the KPK, its leaders and its staff in the past. They know only too well '€” and have experienced '€” how severe and brutal the pressure and intimidation dealt out by the '€œuntouchables'€ outraged by the KPK'€™s attempts to bring the corrupt before the law can be. Among this intimidation was maneuvering to criminalize two of its commissioners a few years ago.

According to the Manila-based Magsaysay Award Foundation, the KPK deserved the honor for '€œits fiercely independent and successful campaign against corruption in Indonesia, combining the uncompromising prosecution of erring powerful officials with farsighted reforms in governance systems and the promotion of vigilance, honesty and active citizenship among all Indonesians'€.

The list of 22 recipients of the award includes co-founder of the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) Teten Masduki in 2005. The late, journalist Mochtar Lubis was the first Indonesian to receive the award in 1958, but he returned it '€” but not the money '€” to protest the naming of internationally renowned Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer as the award recipient in 1995.

Campaigns to annihilate or weaken the KPK have come from the top level of the government and House of Representatives as well as corrupt businesspeople. The politicians have been trying to amend the KPK Law, which gives the anticorruption body strong powers, including the authority to wiretap corruption suspects. They also wanted to drop an article prohibiting the KPK from halting an investigation. Thanks to public support and faith, however, any attempt to disrupt the KPK'€™s activities has always failed, at least so far.

The KPK has its shortcomings and its top officials often find it difficult to behave as state officials. There have been allegations that its commissioners march to the beat of political drums or please those who are in power. The accusations are reasonable, but so far they have been unproven.

The Magsaysay Award shows the KPK'€™s accumulation of merits and impressive track record since its establishment on Dec. 22, 2003. The political parties that formalized the establishment of the KPK nearly 10 years ago apparently never imagined the anticorruption body would emerge as a formidable threat to their own elites.

We congratulate the commission on this international recognition!