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nvestigations into cases of alleged corruption in the private sector are set to take place as mandated under the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

In its latest deliberation of the Criminal Code (KUHP), the House of Representatives formed a plan to revise the KUHP to give the National Police and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) the authority to investigate cases of bribery committed by a private entity.

Under the plan, prison sentences could range from four to 20 years, said United Development Party lawmaker Arsul Sani, who is a member of the House’s working committee on the deliberation of the bill.

However, not a single provision was included in the latest draft bill.

Opposition came from within the House, with the Gerindra Party fearing that the amendment might disrupt the anticorruption campaign, possibly because of an abuse of power by the two institutions, which have long been marred by graft.

Granting such authority to the two institutions would “make the police and the AGO abuse their power over certain parties or companies,” said lawmaker Muhammad Syafi’i.

The police and the AGO have long suffered from a tarnished reputation due to abuse of power and acts of corruption by a number of their personnel.

One of the most high-profile cases was in 2011, when former National Police chief detective Susno Duadji was found guilty of accepting bribes during an investigation into the PT Salmah Arowana Lestari investment case.

Last year, prosecutor Parlin Purba of the Bengkulu Prosecutor’s Office was arrested for allegedly accepting bribes related to an earlier investigation he was handling into a botched irrigation project.

“In any law enforcement institution that has great power [but], at the same time, has poor institutional management, there is the possibility that officers abuse their authority,” said Dadang Trisasongko of Transparency International Indonesia.

House factions are divided over whether to grant the same authority to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which was formed during the Reform Era amid high distrust toward the police and the AGO in resolving corruption cases.

Some lawmakers have argued that the KPK’s exclusive power in cases has resulted in state losses.

Businesspeople, meanwhile, have raised concerns that a revised KUHP would negatively impact economic activity across the country, particularly as the definition on what constitutes corruption in the private sector could be unclear since the House has yet to seek input from the sector.

“I’m afraid that the law enforcers would use it to criminalize private corporations in the future,” Indonesian Employers Association chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani said.

Hariyadi’s statement was echoed by Chris Kanter of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), who said that a revised code could muddy the waters of policies that were previously clear.

“For example, giving and taking commission is common in business. It shouldn’t be regarded as corruption as it has been part of corporate policy and action,” Chris said.

The National Police, however, declined to comment on the issue. “Give us time to talk to people working on the deliberation,” spokesman Insp. Gen. Setyo Wasisto said.