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‘Taliban’ allegations deepen KPK rift

Protests have emerged against a plan to purge the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) of conservative Muslims, with critics slamming it as another way to undermine the country’s fight against graft

Kharishar Kahfi and Karina M. Tehusijarana (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, June 17, 2019

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‘Taliban’ allegations deepen KPK rift

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span>Protests have emerged against a plan to purge the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) of conservative Muslims, with critics slamming it as another way to undermine the country’s fight against graft.

The plan, which came from the KPK selection committee (Pansel), has restoked tensions surrounding the antigraft body, which has been battered by scandals related to the high-profile corruption cases it has investigated in the past five years.

Soon after its formation last month, the committee announced that it would work with the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) and National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) in the selection process.

Selection committee head Yenti Garnasih acknowledged that claims about the existence of a hardline group within the KPK had been a factor in the decision to involve the BNPT but played down its significance.

“Whether the group exists or not, we don’t want the [KPK] to be exposed to radical ideologies,” she told The Jakarta Post.

As in other government institutions, many KPK officials are known to be devout Muslims.

However, there are no records of them having formed a hard-line faction or impeding the antigraft body’s investigations.

For example, Novel Baswedan, a KPK investigator who was a victim of an acid attack by unknown assailants in 2017, is among the commission’s top detectives who have handled its most prominent cases in the past decade.

A devout Muslim, he sports a short beard and traditional Muslim garb — both are often seen as a sign of religious conservatism.

He was involved in efforts to uncover deep-rooted corruption in state projects that was commanded by former Democratic Party treasurer and lawmaker Muhammad Nazaruddin.

Novel was also part of a more recent investigation into the e-ID card procurement project, which brought down former Golkar Party chairman and House of Representatives speaker Setya Novanto.

Some supporters of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo have seized on Pansel’s plan as proof that the KPK is at risk of being infiltrated by “radical” Muslims.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslim scholar and Jokowi supporter Akhmad Sahal, for example, tweeted screenshots of an essay written by pro-Jokowi blogger Denny Siregar, calling the alleged hardline group within the KPK Islam cingkrang, in reference to the cut-off pants often worn by conservative Muslim men.

In the essay, Denny raised concerns about a conservative Muslim — and anti-Jokowi — “Taliban” faction inside the KPK, which he claimed included former commissioner Bambang Widjojanto and Novel. He also praised the selection committee’s decision to bring in BIN and the BNPT.

Many former senior KPK figures have ended up in the government’s opposition camp, with Bambang and fellow former commissioner Adnan Pandu Praja joining Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan’s gubernatorial campaign team in 2016, while Novel himself is Anies’ cousin.

The acid attack two years ago left Novel blind in one eye. Many suspect that the incident was related to the cases he had been investigating.

Bambang is also a high-profile supporter of opposition presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and is heading Prabowo’s legal team in its ongoing petition against the presidential election results in the Constitutional Court (MK).

Meanwhile, former KPK adviser Abdullah Hehamahua, also a devout Muslim, led pro-Prabowo protesters outside the court for the petition’s first hearing on Friday, enjoining the judges to be professional and impartial.

KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo did not deny the existence of a conservative Muslim group within the antigraft body but insisted it did not influence the KPK’s work. He also denied that the group had any particular political leanings.

Another KPK commissioner, Saut Situmorang, echoed Agus’ sentiments, adding that the public should not judge KPK officials by their physical appearance but rather their actions.

“It’s not relevant to measure someone in the KPK by the accessories they use, their hairstyle, their pants, mustache and so forth,” he told the Post. “What’s more relevant is what they do, what they work on and what they communicate.”

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) deputy coordinator Agus Sunaryanto said the concerns about radicalism in the KPK were exaggerated, adding that he was worried the issue would distract the public from the police’s stalled investigation on the attack on Novel.

“The important question is whether anyone can guarantee that the selected commissioners will not be criminalized, like the previous KPK leadership was,” Sunaryanto told the Post on Sunday.

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