Having encountered internal rifts and endured political bullying, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is facing yet another major test as pressure has mounted for the country’s top antigraft body to name House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto a suspect again.

Setya, also Golkar Party chairman, won his pretrial petition on Friday with the South Jakarta District court annulling the KPK’s decision to name him a suspect in the high-profile e-ID graft case.

Setya had been suspected of playing key roles in swindling the procurement, which is estimated to have caused Rp 2.3 trillion (US$ 175 million) in state losses. Two former Home Ministry officials, Irman and Sugiharto, were recently found guilty in the case.

KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said the KPK would study the pretrial ruling, which he said was “disappointing” and “irregular.” He also said the option to issue a new sprindik (letter ordering the start of an investigation) and name Setya a suspect again was on the table.

“[Setya’s] pretrial ruling should not be perceived as a decision that proves [his] innocence,” Febri told The Jakarta Post on Sunday, adding that the KPK respected the pretrial ruling. “But we must really be firm in deciding our next move. One thing’s for sure, the investigation into the e-ID graft case will continue.”

The pretrial hearing’s sole judge, Cepi Iskandar, argued that Setya’s suspect status had been rendered void since the KPK had used evidence taken from the dossiers of other suspects in the case.

Febri questioned the argument. “We cannot handle the suspects separately since [the alleged graft] was done collectively.”

The KPK previously said investigators had collected around 200 pieces of evidence indicating Setya’s alleged role.

Meanwhile, the Judicial Commission said on Saturday it had received four reports on Cepi’s alleged ethics violations from 2014 to 2016 but none was proven.

Setya is the fourth KPK suspect to win a pretrial motion after State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Gen. Budi Gunawan, who had been charged in his capacity as former National Police deputy chief; former Makassar mayor Ilham Arief Sirajuddin; and former director general of taxation at the Finance Ministry, Hadi Poernomo. The KPK renamed Ilham a suspect two weeks after his pretrial ruling was issued. However, Budi and Hadi are both free men.

Former KPK commissioner Indriyanto Seno Aji said the antigraft body should name Setya a suspect again, citing a 2016 Supreme Court regulation allowing law enforcement bodies that had lost pretrial motions to issue a new sprindik.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Lalola Easter concurred, saying the KPK could issue the letter immediately. “No need to start the probe from the beginning,” she said. She suspected there had been outside interference that caused the judge to lack independence.

Asked for comment about the pretrial hearing on Sunday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said: “You should ask the KPK.”

Dozens rallied in Jakarta on Sunday to show support for the KPK and condemn Setya’s pretrial ruling. Netizens, meanwhile, have been disseminating social media posts mocking Setya, who will reportedly check out of Premier Hospital in Jatinegara, East Jakarta, where he had been undergoing medical treatment.

Meanwhile, Setya’s opponents within Golkar maintained that he, despite the pretrial ruling, should temporarily step down on the grounds that his alleged involvement in the e-ID case had dragged down the party’s electability.

Setya’s lawyer, Agus Trianto, has urged all parties to respect the pretrial decision.

Popular

Volcano erupts in North Sulawesi, hundreds evacuated

Dubai roads, airport reel from floods after record rains

Ramadan boosts consumer confidence, retail sales