A

s candidates enter the next stage of the process to select the next leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), observers warned that escalated political lobbying could influence the process.

A member of House of Representatives’ Commission III overseeing law and legal affairs, Syarifudin Suding said the House’s involvement in staging a fit-and-proper test at the final stage of the selection would result in political bargaining and should be reevaluated.

The People’s Conscience Party (Hanura) politician said it would be better for an independent body consisting of law experts from reputable universities to run the process.

“An independent selection process would result in independent and credible KPK leaders. We need that strong commitment to eradicate corruption,” he said.

Suding highlighted several major corruption cases investigated by the KPK, including the Bank Century bailout and the recent Southeast Asian (SEA) Games construction scandal.

“I am afraid the selection process will not be fairly conducted and will be filled with selection committee members and candidates making deals,” he said.

He cited graft allegations levelled by fugitive graft suspect and former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin against KPK deputy chairman Chandra M. Hamzah and KPK official Ade
Rahardja. Nazaruddin said the two met with Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum.

The allegations prompted legislators to call for the establishment of an ethics board to probe the KPK officials.

In a televised interview, Nazaruddin claimed that Chandra and Anas brokered a deal to take bribes from the construction budget of a SEA Games facility.

Nazaruddin’s accusations, initially aimed at party colleagues, have also hit KPK officials and affected the selection process. The credibility of KPK officials has come under question.

The most blatant criticism against the KPK came from House Speaker Marzuki Alie who called for the KPK to be disbanded.

Zainal Arifin Mochtar, the director of Gadjah Mada University’s Center for Anticorruption Studies, said at a discussion Saturday that the House distance itself from the antigraft body.

“House members are the ones under intense KPK scrutiny. There can be many political intrigues in the selection process,” he said.

Zainal said the KPK remained the most prominent law enforcers in corruption cases in Indonesia. He said the agency should be led by people who were free from political influence.

The next stage of the selection process will see the committee review the profiles of the 17 candidates this week.

A former member of the House working committee on the KPK bill, Firman Jaya Daeli, agreed that the selection committee should be an independent establishment.

“I believe the country still has a lot of independent and credible
people who can carry out the selection process, including law experts from universities,” he said.

The profile review at the Law and Human Rights Ministry starts this week, after which the filed will be narrowed to eight candidates who will undergo a fit-and-proper test at the House.

The House said that it would work with intelligence agencies to scrutinize candidates’ track records.

Several KPK officials, including Chandra, Ade, and spokesman Johan Budi, were disqualified in the first phase of the process last week.