T

he candidacy of Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti as the new National Police chief may face challenges at the House of Representatives as the majority of political factions have questioned the reasoning behind the dropping of previously confirmed candidate Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan.

Although each of the 10 factions has yet to formally announce a final decision on the matter, leaders from the majority factions have called for a deferment in the confirmation hearing for Badrodin until President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo provides an official reason for withdrawing Budi'€™s nomination.

A former adjutant to former president and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chief Megawati Soekarnoputri, Budi was Jokowi'€™s previous choice for the top cop post.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named Budi a suspect in a bribery case only days before his confirmation hearing at the House.

Jokowi later dropped his nomination following a public outcry in which the three-star general'€™s commitment to law enforcement was questioned because of his lawsuit.

At the beginning of the third sitting session on Monday, the lawmakers said there had been no reason to drop Budi, as a pretrial ruling had annulled his suspect status.

Those questioning Jokowi'€™s decision include lawmakers from the PDI-P, the ruling political party which has supported Jokowi since his presidential bid last year.

The PDI-P has joined other parties from the opposition Red-and-White Coalition, the influence of which has waned due to infighting within the Golkar Party, its largest faction.

'€œThe PDI-P is not against Badrodin. But there is an unfinished process of BG'€™s [Budi Gunawan] nomination. The President must formally explain that to us,'€ Bambang Wuryanto, the secretary of the PDI-P faction, said on Monday.

'€œThe House has sent a letter requesting an official explanation from the President. He must first respond to make everything clear. One cannot arbitrarily do whatever one wants in running the country,'€ he added.

It was previously reported that the largest political party continued to support Budi despite public resistance.

Executives from other factions have also demanded an explanation from Jokowi, excluding the Democratic Party and the Golkar camp of Aburizal Bakrie.

The Democratic Party was the only faction that opposed Budi'€™s nomination during his confirmation hearing in January.

As two rival factions in Golkar has battled for government recognition, a group led by Aburizal, the legitimacy of which was recently annulled by the government, has chosen to support Jokowi'€™s nomination of Badrodin, which has been officiated by a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu).

While it has been preoccupied with maintaining its legitimacy at the House, the Aburizal camp is also in the process of challenging the Law and Human Rights Ministry'€™s official endorsement of the rival camp led by Agung Laksono.

House Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon of the Gerindra Party said the House would hold a consultative meeting to hear the official stance of factions this week.

'€œWe basically expect the President to answer us, providing a thorough explanation of the decision to annul Budi'€™s candidacy,'€ Fadli said.

Budi'€™s suspect status was annulled in a controversial pretrial motion ruling at the South Jakarta District Court.

After a surprising pretrial court hearing that is not regulated by the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP), judge Sarpin Rizaldi declared Budi'€™s suspect status '€œnull and void'€ and ordered the KPK to stop investigating him.

Following the court ruling, Budi'€™s case was transferred to the Attorney General'€™s Office (AGO).

Attorney General Muhammad Prasetio has expressed his reluctance to continue the investigation into Budi, citing weak evidence.