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KPK chief cedes ground in the wake of top cop crisis
New team: President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo (second right) talks to the media while (from left to right) National Police acting chief Comr
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span class="inline inline-center">New team: President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo (second right) talks to the media while (from left to right) National Police acting chief Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, Attorney General M. Prasetyo and Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) acting chairman Taufiqurrahman Ruki look on at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday. Jokowi met the senior officials to discuss ways of boosting coordination among state agencies in eradicating corruption. JP/Wendra Ajistyatama
Acting Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Taufiqurrahman Ruki has vowed to pursue corruption cases less aggressively 'to help government programs keep running' in the wake of the crisis between the antigraft body and the National Police.
He blamed the police attacks on suspended KPK leaders and detectives on former KPK chief Abraham Samad, whose last act led to the prosecution of Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, a candidate for National Police chief.
'It is because [Abraham] did not do things the right way,' Taufiqurrahman said on Wednesday after a meeting with President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti and Attorney General M. Prasetyo at the Presidential Palace.
'The President says law enforcement must support government programs, not arouse the fear of prosecution among regional leaders looking to spend their budgets on development,' he added.
Abraham, suspended KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto and two other leaders, Adnan Pandu Praja and Zulkarnain, declared Budi, Jokowi's initial pick for National Police chief, a bribery suspect two days before the House of Representatives approved Budi's nomination.
The police responded by naming Abraham and Bambang suspects in separate cases.
Jokowi later rescinded Budi's nomination and proposed Badrodin, but the police have continued their prosecution of the KPK's suspended leaders.
A pretrial ruling at the South Jakarta District Court, meanwhile, ordered the KPK to annul Budi's suspect status and discontinue its investigation into his alleged corruption.
Taufiqurrahman, the KPK's first chairman when the body was established in 2003, said the KPK would, from now on, only prosecute state officials if they 'could not be prevented from corruption.'
After his inauguration on Friday, Taufiqurrahman appeared dominant, approaching the police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) confidently.
Many have expressed doubt that Taufiqurrahman, a retired police general, will continue the KPK's investigation into Budi, as he showed no inclination to do so prior to his inauguration.
He has repeatedly hinted at the possibility of handing over Budi's case to the AGO or the police following the pretrial decision.
'[The KPK], the police and the AGO are currently involved in intense discussions regarding the KPK's response to the decision. There will be further meetings to discuss it,' Taufiqurrahman said.
His statement undercuts earlier statements from the KPK legal team, which is seeking to challenge the pretrial decision through a case review at the Supreme Court.
Taufiqurrahman has also managed to mollify other KPK leaders, including acting deputy chairman Johan Budi, who has strongly criticized the police's move to charge Abraham and Bambang.
'Whether it is [a result of] rash prosecution or not, we stick to the point that we respect what the police are doing as a law-enforcement institution,' Johan said on Wednesday.
Following the meeting at the Palace, Jokowi called on the KPK, the police and the AGO to put aside their institutional rivalries and create better synergy.
'I also asked the KPK and ordered the AGO and the police not to [let] 'sectoral egos' [take control],' he said. '[The three institutions] must support each other and build public trust so that they can work in accordance with the public's expectation.'
Jokowi later highlighted the importance of prioritizing prevention efforts. 'If indeed it constitutes misconduct and a crime, act firmly,' he said. 'And of course, we should all consider corruption a common enemy that threatens the progress and development of our nation.'
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Ade Irawan criticized Taufiqurrahman's rush to reform and his request for more investigators and prosecutors from the police and the AGO, just one day after being inaugurated.
'But a harmonious relationship with the AGO and the police does not necessarily make the KPK toothless [in its conduct toward the two bodies],' Ade said.
