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n the latest developments on a politically driven inquiry into the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), President Joko ”Jokowi” Widodo appears to be distancing himself from the controversial probe that many suspect is part of efforts to undermine the antigraft body.

Jokowi signaled on Wednesday his refusal to attend a proposed consultation meeting with lawmakers in charge of the inquiry who wish to present their findings on alleged irregularities committed by the KPK. Observers feared the meeting could be used by lawmakers as a political token to support their cause.

“We know that [a special inquiry into an institution such as the KPK] is under the authority of the House,” Jokowi said on Wednesday when asked whether he would meet with the House’s inquiry team.

Jokowi’s remark was perceived by his spokesman Johan Budi as “a sign” that the President would reject the appeal, although the Palace has yet to receive an official request from lawmakers.

“The President has said that it [the inquiry] was under the jurisdiction of the House. It is a sign,” Johan said on Thursday, declining to elaborate.

With the statement, which came as the inquiry team is concluding its months-long investigation, the President may have also indicated that he wanted lawmakers to take full responsibility of their inquiry processes by excluding the executive power.

The proposal to involve Jokowi, whose presidency is backed by the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), one of the most outspoken House factions in pushing the inquiry’s agenda, also saw a fragmented response from House speakers.

Deputy Speaker Taufik Kurniawan from the National Mandate Party (PAN) has openly opposed the call, and urged the House to “exclude the government from having a role in something that is not part of its authority.”

Taufik’s position went against two other deputy speakers who have become staunch critics of the KPK: Fadli Zon of the Gerindra Party and Fahri Hamzah, who belongs to no political party after the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) fired him over an internal struggle last year.

Jokowi’s stance immediately raised the antigraft body’s expectations, with KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah saying that his office “believes the President is fully committed to fighting corruption.”

“And therefore, [the KPK] needs support from all stakeholders,” Febri told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He added that such a commitment might in fact help Jokowi fulfill his promise to improve the country’s ease of doing business for better economic growth.

A similar sentiment was first voiced on Tuesday, a day before the KPK rejected another invitation from the House’s inquiry team to attend a hearing to scrutinize its performance

The inquiry team claimed that it has so far found problems, among others, in the KPK’s procedures on investigators’ recruitment, evidence confiscation, wiretapping and sting operations.

Its latest discovery involves alleged indications of graft committed by KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo in 2015, when he led the National Goods and Procurement Agency (LKPP).

PDI-P’s Masinton Pasaribu, arguably the inquiry team’s harshest critic of the KPK, announced that his party had decided to remove him as deputy chairman of the investigation, and replace him with fellow PDI-P politician Eddy Wijaya Kusuma, a retired police general.

The reason for his replacement, according to the PDI-P, was merely to “refresh” the team, with Eddy claiming the move had “nothing to do with whether the party will have a tougher or softer stance [on the KPK].”

Besides Masinton and Eddy, the PDI-P has four other representatives in the inquiry team, including Henry Yosodiningrat, another KPK critic; Arteria Dahlan and Junimart Girsang, both lawyers who have represented corruption convicts in the past; and Risa Mariska.

However, how Jokowi will respond to the inquiry, according to Johan, depends on the final recommendation of the House after the inquiry team presents its findings at a plenary meeting slated for Sept. 28.