W

e do not need to be rocket scientists to know that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has intensified its efforts in combating graft.

In the span of two months we have seen mountains of graft cases and it is very likely that more household names will be arrested by the KPK. Among them is Ratu Atut Chosiyah, though she is currently only a witness to her youngest brother, a suspect in a graft case involving the former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar.

Though in her second term as Governor of Banten province, there is nothing outrageously wrong here, since a two-term administration is legal. However, there is a growing uneasiness in Banten province. Atut currently has many relatives in the bureaucracy '€” mayors, regents, deputies or councilors. Despite having been elected, echoes of nepotism have started to raise some red flags.

Also, in the upcoming elections, more of her relatives will be running for local and national positions.

By having so many close relatives theoretically elected to office, Atut will be surrounded by her most-trusted aides. She will be like a queen with a consolidated power base, with all the power to run a bureaucracy and possibly abuse it for her own personal gain, for her relatives and for the Golkar Party, to which she belongs. The temptation for anyone who holds power is to abuse it, and this is precisely the issue in politics.

The KPK has banned Atut from leaving Indonesia. This is a serious matter for Atut as it has been suspected that she will flee with the wealth she has generated as governor. The people who have accused her of graft and building a political dynasty to cover her tracks are convinced that the KPK must have the grounds and evidence to suspect Atut, who has been directly or indirectly linked to alleged graft in Banten. Atut needs to be treated as an innocent citizen until proven otherwise. However, as a public figure, Atut cannot escape public scrutiny and ridicule. This is the price that she must pay as a person of her standing.

Who else after Atut? Only the KPK knows. One thing is certain, the KPK will be going after all those connected to Akil Mochtar'€™s case, and eventually some big names will be identified as suspects and witnesses. People are anxiously guessing the KPK'€™s next move. Defenders of Atut suspect that the KPK is being used not only to weaken her political dynasty in Banten but also to weaken Golkar as one of the front-runners in the 2014 elections. The aggressiveness of the KPK in going after Atut and her inner circle has been interpreted as a political vendetta against Golkar. This is politicization of the anticorruption fight.

I am not suspecting the KPK of pursuing a political vendetta. I still believe that the KPK acts independently without any interference from any power or money. But the KPK, of course, must be careful to stay consistent and be non-discriminative in all of its anticorruption efforts. The KPK cannot afford to make mistakes if it is to maintain high integrity and respect in the eyes of the people.

I do not know what would happen to the KPK if it were to lose its integrity. It would not be the end of the world, but would very likely mean a long political setback and send the nation into backslide.

Leslie Holmes, in her book Rotten States?: Corruption, Post-Communism, and Neoliberalism listed four reasons behind anticorruption movements.

One is revenge or retribution: often, new governments are not able to retaliate. Two, anticorruption is seen as a public catharsis; an attempt to clean up the body and mind from decades of guilt and remorse. Third, an attempt to demonstrate the distinction between the new and old government, to show that it is more committed to the rule of law and human rights. Trying those corrupt leaders and politicians in court can be seen as a symbolic farewell to the past. And fourth, it has to do with attempts to regain new legitimacy from the people.

The KPK may argue that it has been mandated by law as an independent state agency in charge of combating corruption, and therefore, will stick to its mandate. After all, Indonesia is one of the most corrupt nations on Earth, according to various local and international surveys. Much like President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the KPK will do the utmost to change the nation'€™s image on corruption in the sense that now we have an independent anticorruption agency cleaning up and guarding the nation.

I concur with the KPK, yet I still urge it to understand the psychology of politics and also to understand the politicization of anticorruption. On the one hand, the KPK has to guard itself from accusations that it acts as an instrument to seek political revenge or retribution, while on the other, the KPK must be careful to not be perceived as a showcase for the government, nor the ruling party in this noble fight to eradicate corruption.

The writer is a fellow at the Ash Center, Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, US, and president of the Indonesian Bar Association (Ikadin).