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Who will save the KPK?
The political commotion surrounding the nomination of Comr
T
he political commotion surrounding the nomination of Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as the National Police chief reached a denouement after President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo recently selected Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti as Budi's
replacement.
For Jokowi, striking what he must have deemed the right compromise involved pleasing the police and their power brokers, while suspending Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chief Abraham Samad and deputy chief Bambang Widjojanto, naming three acting commissioners to replace them.
It is barely a fair deal for the KPK, with the police showing no sign of reducing their attacks on the antigraft body.
The police's intentions have been evident in the reopening of an investigation into KPK investigator Novel Baswedan, in an assault case dating back to 2004 when he was a police detective in Bengkulu, and also with accusing 21 KPK investigators of illegally possessing firearms.
Efforts to weaken the KPK are believed to be systematic and widespread. They involve corruption suspects following Budi's lead and asking for pretrial hearings to annul the KPK's decision to ensnare them.
There is now a lot of room for attacks against the KPK to take place, aimed at eroding public confidence in the antigraft institution, after judge Sarpin Rizaldi invalidated the KPK's move to name Budi a suspect.
Former religious affairs minister Suryadharma Ali of the United Development Party (PPP) has followed in Budi's footsteps, and other graft suspects and convicts, including Democratic Party politician Sutan Bhatoegana, the Golkar Party's Ratu Atut Chosiyah and Gerindra Party politician Fuad Amin, are next in line.
Nothing will be able to close the Pandora's box that judge Sarpin has opened, unless the Supreme Court annuls Sarpin's controversial decision.
The question is whether President Jokowi is aware of the mess besetting the country's criminal justice system and particularly the anticorruption movement.
His recent statement that highlighted prevention as the focus of the fight against graft indicates he is not aware. Or perhaps he just does not care, and uses the guise of non-interference to mask his real thoughts.
The fact is that Jokowi has barely done anything to stop the police's continuing assault on the KPK, an assault that is feared will demoralize both the KPK's leaders and staff.
On Friday, Jokowi met the KPK leaders but according to KPK acting deputy chief Johan Budi, the President reiterated his intention to keep himself out the KPK-police row.
At least Jokowi's predecessor, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, despite his controversial statement on the KPK's 'excessive' powers, ordered the police to suspend an investigation into Novel when the second KPK-police rift exploded three years ago.
If he is to act, Jokowi, who like Yudhoyono has prioritized tackling corruption, must not wait until he installs Badrodin as the National Police chief, which will only materialize after the House of Representatives resumes its duties on March 23. For the KPK commissioners, investigators and other staff, anything bad can happen in the next three weeks.
Badrodin will unlikely take any drastic measures that risk splitting the police, and therefore cannot be expected to stop the KPK's criminalization anytime soon.
Only the presidency is capable of saving the KPK, but whether President Jokowi has the will to do so remains the central question.
