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Team allows active police generals to lead KPK
Amid concerns of police maneuvers to undermine the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), a team tasked with selecting the antigraft bodyâs leadership has welcomed the National Policeâs move to propose two active generals and one retired officer to join selection process
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Amid concerns of police maneuvers to undermine the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), a team tasked with selecting the antigraft body's leadership has welcomed the National Police's move to propose two active generals and one retired officer to join selection process.
The team also said that the two active generals ' Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Yotje Mende and the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Ministry's deputy for national security Insp. Gen. Syahrul Mamma ' would not be required to quit the force should they be chosen as KPK commissioners for the 2015-2019 term.
The police have also endorsed former National Narcotics Agency (BNN) director of investigations Brig. Gen. (ret) Benny Mamoto, who was once reported to the police for alleged extortion, for the KPK job.
The team's spokesperson, Betti S. Alisjahbana, said on Monday that police officers registering with the team would not have to leave their posts at the National Police until it was confirmed whether they had been officially picked by the House of Representatives as new leaders of the KPK.
Betti further said that it was up to the National Police whether they would oblige their members to resign should they be selected as KPK commissioners because the existing regulations only stated that 'an active member of an institution must leave any posts at their respective institutions should they be picked as KPK commissioners.'
'They must leave all structural positions in which they are serving at the National Police if selected to avoid conflicts of interest. Such a requirement also applies to other candidates from other institutions,' Betti said on Monday night.
Almost two weeks after opening the selection, the screening team had received 99 applicants from various backgrounds as of Monday. The registration will close on June 24.
The names of the three police generals were directly proposed by the police but the team said their registration had yet to be confirmed.
The proposal of police candidates for the KPK posts has raised concerns among anticorruption activists that it will further inhibit the antigraft body's fight against corruption.
The conflict between the two institutions earlier this year resulted in the suspension of two KPK commissioners, Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto.
Former KPK chairman and retired police general Taufiequrachman Ruki was later chosen to be KPK interim chairman. Abraham, Bambang and senior investigator Novel Baswedan are currently facing criminal charges by the police.
According to the KPK Law, anyone chosen to serve as the antigraft body's chairman or deputy chairmen is obliged to resign from their current positions and may not pursue other careers outside the KPK.
The law does not require police or military officers to resign from their institutions to take up KPK jobs.
The military law, however, prohibits active personnel from assuming civilian posts, which would lead any personnel selected to resign from the military before beginning work at the KPK.
The Indonesian Military (TNI) has also approved its active members pursuing a career with the KPK, but has insisted they must resign from the military.
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) deputy coordinator Adnan Topan Husodo said the screening team must exercise its independence in selecting KPK commissioners proposed by other institutions, and should not consider recommendations from the National Police or any other institutions as 'a priority'.
Separately, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton on Monday confirmed the endorsement of the three KPK commissioner candidates, saying that the recommendations were made by National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti, who described the three candidates as 'the best police officers'.
'Their track records are clear. They are experienced investigators and it is not easy to be an investigator. There is still the possibility that there may be other retired police members who will express an interest in joining the selection process but as of now we have only the three candidates,' Anton said. (alm)
