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Editorial: Prompt action needed

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has added two more figures to an independent team he will mandate to conduct a fact-finding mission in connection with the conflict between the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the National Police, apparently to strengthen the team to help it work quickly

The Jakarta Post
Thu, January 29, 2015

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Editorial: Prompt action needed

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resident Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo has added two more figures to an independent team he will mandate to conduct a fact-finding mission in connection with the conflict between the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the National Police, apparently to strengthen the team to help it work quickly.

The longer the dispute lingers, the more perilous the situation will be for the antigraft commission and the country'€™s fight against corruption.

The public has been watching a one-sided battle between the two law enforcement agencies. But unlike the first two collisions in 2009 and 2012, this time the police force looks poised to take advantage of its powers and the resources at its disposal to consign the KPK into the abyss. After arresting KPK deputy head Bambang Widjojanto and naming him a suspect in a 2010 perjury case, the police accepted criminal reports filed against KPK head Abraham Samad and another KPK deputy, Adnan Pandu Pradja.

Article 32 of Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK requires the suspension of KPK commissioners if they are named criminal suspects.

Bambang has tendered his resignation to comply with the law and, if the police declare either Abraham or Adnan a suspect and force them to follow in Bambang'€™s footsteps, the public cannot expect the KPK to perform.

The danger lurking all around the KPK should therefore prompt Jokowi to immediately end the stalemate. There should be no more buying time with the '€œcriminalization'€ of KPK leaders underway, despite public defense of the commission.

The impasse certainly owes its origins to the President'€™s decision to nominate head of the National Police training institute Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as the sole candidate for the position of National Police chief, despite the KPK'€™s prior warning of his implication in a corruption case. Budi was listed among a number of police generals who owned fat bank accounts, but the police inspectorate found nothing suspicious in the bank transactions involving Budi and his son.

Jokowi'€™s insistence on Budi'€™s nomination clearly contradicted his own commitment to a clean government. The public did not care why Jokowi arrived at the controversial decision, given his constitutional mandate to pick National Police chief candidates. He might have received aspirations from the public and political parties that supported his presidential bid, but nobody and no group can seize his prerogative.

In the first meeting with the nine-member independent team on Wednesday, Jokowi received a recommendation not to install Budi as the new police chief, despite the House of Representatives'€™ acceptance of his nomination. It was not the first time that Jokowi heard this call and his postponement of Budi'€™s inauguration indicates that the President is taking it into consideration.

Jokowi will give the team 30 days to complete its fact-finding mission. The nation, however, cannot wait for a final and binding decision for too long. Jokowi cannot just watch the crisis as it protracts as it will jeopardize the rule of law he wishes to build.

We are wondering if Jokowi can pass this litmus test.

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