TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Govt to limit amendments to KPK Law
Despite bowing to pressure to amend the 2002 Law on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the government claims that it will only open discussion of four points during the deliberation process with the House of Representatives
Change Size
D
espite bowing to pressure to amend the 2002 Law on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the government claims that it will only open discussion of four points during the deliberation process with the House of Representatives.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said on Monday that the government would do its best to make sure that the revisions were limited to only those four points.
'We are standing guard [and we] don't want more than those [four points],' he said in Central Jakarta.
Luhut claimed it was the KPK itself that had proposed the four points and thus it was the government's duty to accommodate them.
The retired Army general said the first point was the inclusion of articles to authorize the establishment of a supervisory body for the KPK.
The second point was that the KPK would have the authority to issue investigation termination warrants, known as SP3s, like those issued by the National Police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO).
'The SP3 would be for those who are deceased or incapacitated, and also if new evidence is found,' Luhut said.
The third point would prohibit the KPK from recruiting staff, including investigators, independently. According to the draft of the revision, the KPK would be restricted to recruiting from the National Police, the AGO and the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP).
The last point would mandate that the KPK's wiretapping activities be regulated in accordance with the mechanism existing within the antigraft body. '[So it's regulated] not by the courts. I'm explaining this so it's clear,' Luhut said.
Previously, the draft revision stipulated that wiretapping or recordings could not be conducted without court authority. It remains unclear whether the government has formally included its latest stance on the wiretapping authority.
The House and the government had agreed to press ahead with discussing the controversial amendments to the KPK Law, House Legislation Body (Baleg) member Hendrawan Supratikno said on Sunday. They also agreed to pass the bill into law by the end of the year.
KPK deputy chairman Indriyanto Seno Adji, who is a prominent legal expert from the University of Indonesia, lashed out at what he called the government's inconsistency on the KPK plan.
Indriyanto said that earlier Jokowi's administration had convinced the KPK that it would not revise the KPK Law until next year, adding that the government had also agreed to the KPK submitting its version of the law to ensure that none of the articles being revised would weaken the antigraft body.
'There was a commitment in which the government said that this year was not the right time [to revise the KPK Law]. The government even agreed that it would only submit the KPK's draft to the House, not ones drafted by the House or the government,' Indriyanto said.
Another KPK commissioner, Johan Budi, said on Monday that he was surprised to learn that the government and the House had struck a deal to finish the amendment to the KPK Law by the end of 2015.
'Any move to weaken the KPK through the revision should be rejected, not to mention that an earlier draft on the KPK Law amendments circulated in the media clearly showed a plot to weaken the KPK,' Johan added.
Separately, House Commission III overseeing legal affairs announced on Monday night that it would carry out screening of the 10 KPK commissioner candidates between Dec. 14 and 16.
Commission III chairman Aziz Syamsuddin said the commission unanimously made the decision. 'The plenary session has decided that we will go ahead with the [screening] process,' Aziz told reporters at the House on Monday.
The Golkar Party politician said that all 10 candidates would be required to submit academic papers to the commission by next week to prepare for the final interview at the House. 'We will verify the papers before conducting the screening on Dec. 14, 15 and 16,' Aziz added.
Aziz said the interviews would be open to the public. (foy)
__________________________________
To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News.
For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com
