President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and two of the country'€™s former presidents -- Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and BJ Habibie -- attended the opening ceremony of a new Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building on Tuesday. Each expressed high hopes for the newly elected anticorruption body leaders and encouraged them to make a serious effort in the fight against corruption.

Seen to engage in friendly conversation, the three presidents, alongside former vice president Hamzah Haz, were among the slew of VIP guests whom had been in attendance at the opening ceremony of the 16-storey building on Jl. Kuningan Persada, Jakarta.

Their presence was said to be a signal of their hopes and support for the new KPK leaders, whose credibility has been questioned by many anticorruption activists.

Yudhoyono encouraged the current government to support the KPK, expressing his hope that the KPK would remain the backbone of the country'€™s effort to fight corruption. He said that the public'€™s skepticism of the new KPK leadership should be answered with professional work.

'€œWe have to fully support the KPK. We hope that it will develop synergy with the police and the Attorney General'€™s Office,'€ said Yudhoyono, the country'€™s sixth president and the first president to be directly elected by the Indonesian people.

'€œI hope that the KPK will work professionally. [KPK] should avoid working in a manner that confirms any concerns voiced by the people. For example, it shouldn'€™t engage in the selective prosecution of cases. I fully support the KPK,'€ said Yudhoyono, who is chairman of the Democratic Party in Jakarta.

President Jokowi told KPK to maintain its independence and emphasized that it should remain free from political influence when carrying out its work. '€œWe have encouraged KPK to be independent, professional, credible, transparent and accountable,'€ he said in his speech.

According to Jokowi, the independence of KPK will be its strength. Like Yudhoyono, Jokowi also told KPK to cooperate closely with both the police and the prosecutors'€™ office, emphasizing the need for law enforcement institutions to support each other in their respective jobs.

'€œWe only have one objective: to fight corruption effectively. I hope that the KPK leaders can work in the new building with a new spirit,'€ Jokowi added.

Other guests attending the ceremony included two former KPK chairmen Taufiequrachman Ruki and Abraham Samad, National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti, Attorney General M. Prasetyo, State Secretary Pratikno, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Forestry and Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya.

The newly inaugurated KPK commissioners are Agus Rahardjo, Basaria Panjaitan, Alexander Marwata, Laode Muhamad Syarif and Saut Situmorang. (bbn)(+)

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