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ince its establishment over a decade ago, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has become the people'€™s sweetheart. The institution is the one that, amid politics and its dirty magic tricks, keeps everything from crumbling down.

Many have had to learn the hard way about the legal ramifications of being corrupt; but the KPK'€™s work is surely far from over. Still, what the KPK has achieved these past few years is infinitely commendable.

No matter how noble the KPK'€™s mission is, those who carry that mission are nothing more than all us ordinary people. Sure, they have the courage to stand up for what is right and do something real about it. But it doesn'€™t make the KPK a bunch of saints. Nor does it make everyone else sinners.

In an ideal democracy, the power to rule is vested upon those elected by the people.

The KPK, in a way, is the perfect example of how power comes from the people themselves.

It isn'€™t a secret that the KPK has quite a lot of privileges in conducting work. Many have criticized the KPK'€™s investigation for violating the standards of procedure, but many have also defended the commission saying that the KPK is entitled to one or two instances of special treatment.

Things are escalating rather quickly, though, with this KPK vs. Budi Gunawan episode. One would need to be very naïve to deny the peculiarity of the seemingly bad timing of everything that has occurred during these past two weeks.

It seems odd that when the KPK announced Budi as a suspect less than a day before he was to appear before the legislature for a fit and proper test, for a case in 2010, which prompted some to speculate if there was any political agenda driving the KPK'€™s decision.

It also seems odd that 10 days after the KPK'€™s decision to name Budi a suspect, the deputy chief of the KPK, Bambang Widjojanto, has been arrested by the police for allegedly committing perjury or lying under oath in court back in 2010.

So, while everyone will be lining up to support the KPK, the same thing cannot be guaranteed for the police. Both are the face of this nation'€™s law enforcement, but with extremely different reputations. The police are sinners and the KPK is, apparently, a group of saints.

The consequence, obviously, is that the police, regardless of the merit of their work, will always be the villains. The KPK, on the other hand, will always be the heroes even if the facts might suggest otherwise.

Completely trusting either the KPK or the police, calling everything a conspiracy, is a huge mistake. Everyone sins, just differently from one another. In democracy, the highest authority is the people; and ceding that authority completely to any entity '€” be it the KPK, the President, the police or anyone at all '€” is the first step to chaos and total destruction.