T

he controversial decision by a high-ranking police officer seconded to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to publicly disobey the antigraft body’s leaders has resulted in mounting calls for an ethical probe into the policeman’s actions.

On Tuesday, KPK director of investigations Brig. Gen. Aris Budiman attended a hearing for the House of Representatives’ inquiry into the antigraft body, without consent from KPK leaders. The antigraft body has rejected the inquiry, which constitutional experts have claimed is legally flawed and merely intended to undermine the KPK.

KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo confirmed on Wednesday the commission was looking at possible ethical violations committed by Aris.

An internal advisory board quickly moved to respond. Hours after Aris’ surprising presence at the House, they held a meeting to discuss the incident before deciding what move the anti-graft body would take afterward.

“We have our internal regulations. Any violation will be processed accordingly,” Agus said, adding they were awaiting the result of the team’s investigation.

The summons letter was sent directly to Aris instead of the KPK leadership, Agus said, adding that KPK leaders had learned about the summons on Tuesday afternoon.

Three out of five KPK leaders immediately held a meeting to discuss the matter. They wanted Aris to inform of the KPK’s stance on the issue, but it was too late.

“When we looked for Aris, he had already left [for the House],” Agus said. “We wanted to reaffirm our stance [of opposing the inquiry],” he added.

Aris’ controversial move has also exposed what activists have claimed to be a long-standing problem at the KPK, centering on the presence of police detectives seconded to the graft-busting institution.

Activists have worried that investigators coming from the police force would make the independence of the institution problematic, as they also reported to their original institution, the National Police. The police force have repeatedly been listed as one of the most corrupt institutions in the country.

During the hearing, Aris also revealed information about rivalries within the KPK. For example, he recalled several incidents in which his proposals were rejected by a faction he referred to as the “opposition,” led by top KPK investigator Novel Baswedan, a former police investigator who left the force to fully commit to combating corruption with the KPK.

One of his proposals that was strongly rejected by Novel, who was also the chairman of the KPK’s workers union, was to recruit middle-rank police officers. The proposal was rejected over fears it could lead to the police’s dominance within the KPK.

Novel is currently receiving medical treatment in Singapore after an acid attack, which he has suggested was masterminded by a “police general,” severely injured his eyes.

Agus, however, played down Aris’ statement, saying that “internal friction is normal in every institution.”

“It can never affect our decision,” he said, adding that the KPK was still “under control.”

Aiming to further pursue irregularities in the KPK, lawmakers plan to summon KPK leaders.

“There are no more reasons for them [KPK leaders] to ignore our summons given Aris’ testimony,” said inquiry team member and Golkar Party politician Mukhamad Misbakhun.

The House’s Commission III overseeing legal affairs has also scheduled a hearing with KPK leaders in the next two weeks, Commission III chairman Bambang Soesatyo said.

“We will also summon other KPK investigators to attend the hearing in order to hear if they have also had similar experiences to Aris,” Bambang, a Golkar Party politician, said.

The KPK is investigating the multi-trillion rupiah e-ID case, in which a number of people, including House speaker and Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto, have been named as suspects. Dozens of other politicians have also been implicated in the case.

Indonesia Corruption Watch researcher Donal Fariz said Aris’ move qualified as insubordinance. “If it is true that he did not get permission from KPK leaders [to attend the hearing], it is a serious ethical violation that could lead to dismissal,” he said.