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KPK leaders expect no replacement for Busyro

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Abraham Samad said on Tuesday that KPK leaders would not replace outgoing deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas who was slated to finish his official term in December

Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, July 23, 2014

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KPK leaders expect no replacement for Busyro

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orruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Abraham Samad said on Tuesday that KPK leaders would not replace outgoing deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas who was slated to finish his official term in December.

Abraham, who was elected chairman in 2011, said that the three other deputy chairmen '€” Bambang Widjojanto, Adnan Pandu Praja and Zulkarnain '€” were worried that a new replacement would upset the established dynamic at the KPK.

'€œWe don'€™t want a replacement for Pak Busyro. We are worried that a new face would disturb our system. Chemistry is not easy to attain. The current team only really clicked after a year of working together,'€ Abraham said.

Busyro was an incumbent commissioner in 2011, when the House of Representatives elected Abraham, Bambang, Zulkarnain and Adnan for the 2011-2015 period.

Abraham reasoned that KPK commissioners were concerned as his official term '€” with Bambang, Adnan and Zulkarnain '€” was due to end in December 2015, meaning there would not be enough time to establish a relationship with Busyro'€™s replacement.

Referring to the way in which he and his colleagues worked, Abraham said that during his tenure commissioners had agreed that they preferred musyawarah (negotiation resulting in a mutual agreement) rather than the traditional voting mechanism.

'€œWe avoid voting because it can create discomfort among KPK leaders especially for those who lose,'€ Abraham said.

He further said that KPK leaders had sent a letter to outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is slated to end his tenure in October, and to the Law and Human Rights Ministry requesting them not to hold any selection to appoint Busyro'€™s successor.

Former chairman of the Judicial Commission Busyro was elected as a KPK commissioner in 2010 after brief stint as KPK deputy chairman.

The House mandated that Busyro replace former KPK chairman Antasari Azhar, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for murder.

Many observers had high hopes that Busyro would revitalize the KPK, which had been hard hit by two high-profile cases: Antasari'€™s murder conviction and on-again-off-again charges against Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah for alleged abuse of power and attempted extortion of a graft suspect.

Later, in 2011, Busyro was beaten by Abraham during a selection process at the House to become the new KPK chairman for the period of 2011-2015.

In March 2013, Busyro and Abraham were engaged in an internal rift among KPK leaders.

Busyro accused Abraham of spreading '€œcheap'€ rumors when he said there was a plot to unseat him.

Despite some bashing of heads, Busyro worked well with Abraham, Bambang, Adnan and Zulkarnain to solve many high-profile graft cases such as the 2008 Bank Century bailout, which allegedly implicates Vice President Boediono, and the multi-trillion rupiah Hambalang sports complex project in West Java, which has seen the imprisonment of former youth and sports minister Andi Mallarangeng, who is a senior politician from the ruling Democratic Party.

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