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View all search resultsNewly installed police detective corps chief Comr
ewly installed police detective corps chief Comr. Gen. Anang Iskandar visited the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters on Friday to meet with the antigraft body's commissioners, a move that could signal warmer ties between the two law enforcement institutions.
Anang said after the meeting that he hoped relations between the KPK and the National Police would improve in order to ensure the success of the government's antigraft campaign.
'I met with all the KPK commissioners in order to build synergy between the two institutions so that law enforcement against corruption can improve,' said Anang, a former National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief.
He said his presence at the KPK office could be a seen as a sign of better cooperation in the future.
Relations between the National Police and the KPK were put to the test earlier this year following the KPK's naming of police chief candidate Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as a graft suspect.
Although the KPK halted its investigation into Budi, the detective corps arrested then KPK chairman Abraham Samad and his deputy Bambang Widjojanto on criminal charges.
The move against the two KPK commissioners was spearheaded by then detective corps chief Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso, who was recently removed following months of controversy.
Budi Waseso is a close acquaintance of Budi.
Meanwhile, interim KPK commissioner Johan Budi expressed appreciation for the visit and said that during the short meeting Anang introduced himself and briefed the KPK leaders about his previous experience in the police force before holding talks with KPK investigators seconded by the police force.
'The visit was a courtesy call. However, of course we briefly touched on several of our previous preventive programs, such as in the mineral and coal [sector] in 2014, a team effort between the National Police and the KPK that was able to recover state losses. This was greeted well by both Pak Anang and the KPK commissioners,' he said.
However, Johan acknowledged that the two parties did not go into much detail on specific graft cases being investigated by each of their institutions.
'I feel that we are communicating well with the police force. With this in mind, our synergy may improve in the future,' he said.
Separately, police observer Bambang Widodo Umar applauded Anang's initiative to approach the KPK commissioners, saying it was a sign of reconciliation between the two institutions.
'[The meeting] was important because there has yet to be a fixed mechanism on how the KPK, the police force and the Attorney General's Office should coordinate with each other to eradicate corruption,' he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Bambang emphasized that the institutions must improve their coordination efforts in order to prevent future conflicts.
'Such conflicts must not happen again as it is an embarrassment. So, the new detective corps chief was right [to approach the KPK],' he said.
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