The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Thursday urged the House of Representatives to drop its plan to amend the Code of Criminal Procedures (KUHAP), saying it would weaken the
country'€™s anti-corruption campaign.

In the KUHAP amendment under deliberation, the House planned to remove the right of law enforcement agencies to perform preliminary investigations into a case.

The draft amendment also creates a new entity called the commissioner judge, which would independently determine whether a law enforcement agency could proceed with an investigation, detain suspects, search and seize evidence or wiretap phone conversations.

'€œRescinding the KPK'€™s right to conduct preliminary investigations is like deliberately and systematically removing the KPK'€™s authority to go after wrongdoing,'€ KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto said on Thursday. '€œSuch a move is against the spirit of reform and is detrimental to corruption eradication.'€

The same concern was raised by legal activists last year when the Law and Human Rights Ministry proposed the measure to the House of Representatives.

Bambang also expressed concern about the timing for deliberation the bill, given that the House only had less then three months before the legislative election.

The official campaign period for the April 9 legislative election began in January, and the House is expected to recess next month.

'€œThe time is too short to discuss such complex legal matters. It is unlikely that the deliberations will allow for public participation. The KPK has also not been invited to the deliberations,'€ Bambang said.

Earlier, the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), along with several
other NGOs, also expressed concerns on the draft, which they deemed was a deliberate move to weaken the KPK.

'€œWithout having the authority to carry out its own investigations, the KPK will be crippled,'€ ICW'€™s Tama S. Langkun said.

Tama said lawmakers were unlikely to produce quality legislation since it was campaign season.

'€œThe deliberation should take a lot of time, but lawmakers are now turning their attention to how to win again in the legislative election.'€

The House declined to take the blame for the poor timing of the amendment'€™s deliberation.

Ahmad Yani, a lawmaker from the United Development Party (PPP), said it was easy for the anti-graft body '€œto launch an attack on the House since the KPK is anti-party and anti-House.

'€œWhat they forget is that the proposed amendment comes from the government,'€ he said.

Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Al Muzzammil Yusuf said the draft was wider in scope. '€œDon'€™t assume this is just about the KPK. We want to improve the operations of the police and prosecutors,'€

Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin said he would be '€œopen for a discussion'€
with the KPK, but that there was little he could do as the amendment'€™s '€œdeliberation had begun in the House'€.

Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana said the draft would not weaken the KPK.

'€œThe government'€™s stance is that if the draft leads to attempts to hinder the KPK, yes, we [the government] will withdraw it,'€ he said.

Denny also said that the KPK should not be worried about the planned amendment as the lex specialis anti-corruption law would override the general law.

'€œSo, the problem now is not about the substance of the draft but its process,'€ he said.

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