T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said on Friday it had not been invited to any House of Representatives'€™ discussions on the deliberation of the 2015 regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on the appointment of its interim commissioners.

The anti-graft body delivered the criticism as the House Commission III overseeing legal affairs was holding a session to endorse a proposal to enact the Perppu into law to replace the 2002 KPK Law.

The law was to be presented to the House during a plenary session on Friday. '€œThe KPK leadership was not invited; only the KPK legal division was invited,'€ KPK acting chairman Taufiequrachman Ruki said on Friday.

The House only invited Attorney General M. Prasetyo and National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti to discuss the regulation in a Commission III meeting, which took place on Wednesday. The two officials said they would support the decision to enact the Perppu into law.

Johan Budi, one of the KPK'€™s interim commissioners, said the antigraft body had not received any invitation to join the discussion since the House started the deliberation process in February. '€œIf we had been asked to give our opinion [by the House], then of course we would have gone,'€ he said.

Following a month-long standoff between the National Police and the KPK, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo issued the Perppu in February, which appointed three acting leaders as he suspended KPK chairman Abraham Samad and deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto.

The Perppu has two additional chapters stipulating the mechanism to fill the three vacant seats in the commission'€™s leadership as well as legal and administrative requirements for KPK leaders.

It also removed the maximum age requirement of 65 for membership of the anti-graft body, as stipulated in the 2002 KPK Law, in an apparent move to accommodate Ruki'€™s membership, who is now 68.

In discussion of the Perppu, lawmakers also mulled including the establishment of a permanent ethics committee to monitor the KPK in the new law.

Johan questioned the plan, saying the proposal '€œneeded to be discussed thoroughly first'€ with all relevant parties. '€œIt needs a thorough discussion. For example, what will be the mechanism for its membership selection?'€ he said.

Commission III chairman Aziz Syamsuddin approved the decision after the commission'€™s 10 factions voiced their support for the motion on Thursday night.

The KPK said it would honor any decision made by the House regarding the deliberation of the Perppu, as it would only focus on maintaining its current performance.

'€œAbout the Perppu, we leave the decision completely to the House,'€ he said, adding that the KPK was ready to implement any decisions made by the House.

'€œFor us, it is [important] to ensure the KPK keeps running due to the many cases being handled,'€ Johan added.

Previously, anti-graft watchdogs warned of the possibility of a new plan to weaken the KPK as the Law and Human Rights Ministry Yasonna H. Laoly considered cutting short the tenure of the current KPK leadership.

Speculation was also rife that Yasonna would pick less reputable individuals as members of the selection committee.

A 2011 Presidential Regulation, issued by then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, authorized the third batch of KPK leaders, including Samad and Bambang, to remain in their positions until December 2015.

Yasonna has said that a new batch of commissioners would be installed by September at the latest.