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s a Javanese, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo is familiar with the old maxim alon-alon waton kelakon (slow but sure), but now it is time for him to move as quickly as possible to settle the protracted controversy of the eligibility of Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as the next chief of the National Police.

Before leaving for his Southeast Asia trip and then upon his arrival, the President said the much-awaited decision would be made this week, without setting a date and without specifying whether he would install or drop Budi, who has won the approval of the House of Representatives.

The likelihood is that Jokowi will cancel his nomination of Budi, as he told Muhammadiyah figure Syafii Maarif, who leads the nine-strong independent team to help resolve the standoff between the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the police, in a phone conversation last week.

Jokowi'€™s intention to select one or two new police chief candidates is also corroborated by the fact that the National Police Commission has submitted a new list, which does not include Budi, to the President.

Jokowi should not prolong this uncertainty. The nation'€™s time and energy have been sapped by this unnecessary polemic. The issue could have been avoided had Jokowi stopped the nomination process of Budi as soon as the KPK named him a suspect one month ago.

It is the KPK'€™s investigation of Budi'€™s alleged involvement in past corruption cases that undermines his chances of becoming the top cop. The court battle Budi is waging to challenge the KPK'€™s quick decision to declare him suspect cannot impede or stop the investigation, but the criminalization of the KPK'€™s leaders, which is now underway, perhaps can.

The KPK has always declared suspects based on solid evidence, which so far has been verified in court, no matter how hard defendants have struggled to prove otherwise. As an independent anticorruption body, its credibility has been tested, although due to its limited human resources it has often failed to show the complete pictures of graft cases.

Many suspect the KPK'€™s actions against Budi are politically motivated, but we cannot imagine the damage his installation as police chief would do to this nation and its efforts to uphold the law. The KPK had warned Jokowi of Budi'€™s ineligibility beforehand, but the President opted to ignore that warning.

The President has sought advice from many parties, including the opposition, and despite their pledge to respect whatever decision he takes in this controversy, he has left the nation waiting for too long. This game must end as soon as possible, with the President rebooting the selection process. We know the pressure Jokowi is facing, but the more he tries to buy time, the sooner he will lose the public'€™s confidence.

To avoid mistakes and for the sake of his credibility, the President should allow the KPK and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre to check the candidates'€™ track records, just as he did for his ministerial hopefuls when he selected his Cabinet.