Despite doubts in the early days of their tenure, the current leaders, led by chairman Agus Rahardjo, did nonetheless uncover high-profile cases, which have resulted in attacks on KPK leaders and investigators.  

“After what we have gone through the last four years, I realize that fighting corruption is a difficult task. It’s not like what I learned from textbooks,” KPK deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif told The Jakarta Post during an interview recently.

During their first days in office, the five KPK commissioners—Agus, and deputies Laode, Saut Situmorang, Basaria Panjaitan and Alexander Marwata—were criticized as weak figures who had been chosen by the government to quell long-standing conflict with the National Police after the previous batch of leaders named Gen. Budi Gunawan a suspect in a graft case in 2015. Budi had been on course to become the next National Police chief if the antigraft body had not named him a suspect in a graft case.  

Budi, who is now the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief, was later cleared of the charges, and Agus’ leadership passed the first year prosecuting small fry—graft cases involving regional heads and local councilors.  

Then the antigraft body suddenly went full throttle on a high-profile corruption case pertaining to the procurement of e-ID card equipment in 2016, naming two former Home Ministry officials, Irman and Sugiharto, suspects.

The investigation into the case was made possible by testimony from former Democratic Party treasurer and lawmaker, Muhammad Nazaruddin, who claimed that many high-ranking officials were involved in alleged graft cases. Nazaruddin was convicted in 2011 for his role in the corruption case relating to several state projects that had been channeled to the Dems, the party of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at that time the country’s president.

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