C

orruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Abraham Samad said on Wednesday that he and his colleagues remained solid, amid speculation of another crack within the antigraft body following reports of his intent to run in the July 9 presidential election.

'€œAll KPK leaders agreed to keep internal '€˜solidity'€™ and avoid unnecessary issues that could incite an internal conflict among KPK leaders,'€ Abraham said.

He said the KPK leaders had decided to cancel a meeting to discuss the possibility of creating an ethics committee to examine his previous statements in the media that he could be nominated as the running mate of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) candidate Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo.

Several KPK leaders said Abraham may have breached the commission'€™s code of ethics.

While maintaining the unity of the KPK, Abraham still lashed out at those who had attempted to bring him before an ethics hearing.

He said such a move was part of a scheme to weaken the KPK and halt the nation'€™s antigraft fight. '€œThere is an effort to weaken the KPK by raising the ethics committee issue,'€ he said.

Speculation that Abraham could face an ethics hearing emerged after KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto told reporters on Monday that the commission would clarify a number of issues with Abraham, including his meeting with Jokowi some time ago at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta.

'€œAll of the questions, including about the meeting with Pak Jokowi in Yogyakarta, will be clarified [with Abraham] to see whether there was a slip of the tongue or whether there was a meeting that was not reported to us. Hopefully, this can be resolved,'€ Bambang said.

He said the commission would use the results of the meeting to consider whether it should establish an ethics committee.

Based on the KPK'€™s existing code of conduct, every KPK leader must give informed consent to fellow leaders about his or her involvement in meetings with any entity outside the commission.

Bambang added that the leaders'€™ meeting would seek clarification from the KPK chairman about his statement that he had obtained approval from the commission'€™s leaders to pursue a vice-presidential nomination.

Abraham had claimed last Thursday that his political venture had been approved by his fellow commissioners, a statement that Bambang immediately denied.

'€œAs far as I am concerned, Pak Abraham never initiated a formal discussion about this issue; neither did he seek permission to run for [political] office,'€ Bambang said via a text message sent to The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Bambang went on to say at that time that he had called on Abraham to make up his mind regarding his vice-presidential bid. '€œHe has the option of staying with the KPK [by rejecting his candidacy]. I am sure he will make a decision soon so as to uphold the independence of the KPK as a law enforcement institution,'€ he said.

However, KPK spokesman Johan Budi announced on Tuesday night that all the KPK leaders had decided not to hold a meeting to discuss the issue. '€œThe KPK commissioners have decided not to have an internal meeting regarding the plan to establish an ethics committee in relation to Pak Abraham'€™s vice-presidential bid,'€ Johan said in a prepared statement.

Prior to Johan'€™s statement, the PDI-P had publicly announced on Monday that it had chosen former vice president Jusuf Kalla as its vice-presidential candidate.