President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo on Tuesday inaugurated the new headquarters of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), telling five newly elected commissioners for the 2015-2019 period to resist political interference in the commission'€™s prosecution of future graft cases.

'€œThe KPK should be kept as an independent institution that is free from any [intervention] from political powers. The KPK'€™s independence could be improved by stepping up its professionalism and holding accountable investigations,'€ Jokowi said during the ceremony to inaugurate the Rp 316 billion (US$23 million), 16-story building.

Jokowi, who was roundly criticized by antigraft campaigners for not doing enough to help the KPK during its earlier standoff with the National Police, reiterated his commitment to strengthen the antigraft body in the future by '€œempowering the KPK as an institution'€.

'€œThe government is committed to strengthening the KPK institutionally in order to meet the public'€™s demands and expectations to create clean governance in this country. I believe that the system at the KPK is already well established and recent changes in leadership won'€™t affect the performance of the KPK in the future,'€ Jokowi added.

During the January standoff, critics blamed Jokowi for not ordering the National Police to halt dubious criminal investigations into then KPK chairman Abraham Samad and commissioner Bambang Widjojanto, who were rounded up by the police after their decision to launch a criminal investigation into then-National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, a former adjutant to former president and current Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri.

During the standoff, antigraft campaigners urged Jokowi to take a similar step to his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who ordered the police to drop criminal charges against then-KPK commissioners Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, who were named suspects after the KPK launched a graft investigation into a two-star police general in 2012.

Instead of ordering the police to drop their probe into Abraham and Bambang, Jokowi suspended the two KPK commissioners and instead appointed former police general Taufiequrachman Ruki, who later transferred Budi'€™s case to the Attorney General'€™s Office (AGO) before finally sending it back to the National Police to be closed.

During his five-minute speech on Tuesday, Jokowi reminded new KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo and his four deputies to improve synergy with the National Police and the AGO during their tenure over the next four years.

'€œI also hope that the KPK will step up its synergy with other law enforcement agencies, because in our fight against corruption we need the KPK, the AGO and the police to be strong. I see that sectoral egotism has become an obstacle in our fight to eradicate corruption in the country,'€ Jokowi said.

Responding to Jokowi'€™s speech, Agus said that the new building could boost the performance of the antigraft body, especially with the installation of high-tech equipment that could ease the work of KPK investigators.

'€œFor example, all questioning taking place inside the interrogation room will automatically be transcribed into writing. We also aim to improve security in this new building,'€ Agus said.

Agus said that under his leadership the KPK would focus on prevention in order to boost Indonesia'€™s corruption perception index.

Currently, Indonesia'€™s corruption index stands at 34, lower than Malaysia'€™s 54, on a scale of zero to 100.

Meanwhile, Yudhoyono, who joined Jokowi and several former vice presidents during the ceremony, supported the President'€™s call to encourage the KPK to build strong synergy with other law enforcement bodies.

'€œI hope that the KPK will always get support from the government and members of the public,'€ Yudhoyono told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony.

The KPK is currently investigating a number of high-profile graft cases including the Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) case, which could implicate Megawati, and the Bank Century case, which has implicated Yudhoyono'€™s former vice president Boediono.

Choosing not to vow to zero in on the two cases, the five new KPK commissioners instead pledged to focus on prevention rather than aggressive prosecution during their tenure.
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