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New interim KPK chief seeks to rebuild public trust
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The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building (left) in Jakarta is pictured on June 27, 2023. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
N
ew Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) interim chief Nawawi Pomolango said on Monday that he would try to restore public confidence in the institution after its former chairman was charged with the extortion of a former minister.
Nawawi was sworn in to the position at the State Palace on Monday, just two days after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo relieved Firli Bahuri of his duties and appointed Nawawi – one of Firli’s four deputies – as his temporary replacement.
Speaking to reporters following his inauguration, Nawawi said his first move would be to meet with the three remaining KPK deputies to discuss priority steps for the agency going forward.
“KPK leadership is a collective job. That’s why I have to talk with other fellow leaders. The most urgent matter for us now is to restore the eroded public trust – no matter how small the outcome is,” Nawawi said. “[Public trust] has long been the KPK’s only capital, and [to restore it] is the weightiest task.”
The agency and its leadership have been mired in controversy since Firli took charge in 2019, around the same time the Jokowi administration and lawmakers allowed the antigraft agency to be systematically defanged through a 2019 amendment to the KPK Law.
The controversies include a widely criticized civic knowledge test that was used to justify the firing of dozens of KPK employees in 2021 and more recent allegations of embezzlement, bribe-taking and sexual harassment at the institution.
