During a ceremony at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta on Tuesday, National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian inaugurated police officer and former KPK law enforcement deputy Insp. Gen. Firli as the new South Sumatra Police chief. The two-star general succeeded Insp. Gen. Zulkarnain, who had held the position since August 2017.

“Welcome home, Firli. I would like to express my highest gratitude for your two years of service as the law enforcement deputy at the KPK,” said Tito as reported by Antara news agency.

Firli left his position at the KPK roughly a year after KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo inaugurated him as the antigraft body’s law enforcement deputy in April last year. He previously served as the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) police chief between February 2017 and April 2018.

The National Police chief also voiced his hope that Firli’s experience as a KPK law enforcement deputy and NTB Police chief would be a boon for the South Sumatra community and result in better public safety, especially during regional elections.

At least seven regencies in South Sumatra are slated to hold regional elections in 2020, including Firli’s hometown of Ogan Komering Ulu.

National Police Commission (Kompolnas) commissioner Poengky Indarti said it was routine for the force to promote officers who were currently seconded to another institution.

She added that the new position was a promotion for Firli because he had previously led the police in NTB, which had a smaller population and level of threat compared to its counterpart in South Sumatra.

“He had many achievements while leading the force in NTB, including implementing prevention measures that resulted in a drop in crime levels. I believe he will do well in South Sumatra,” Poengky said.

Prior to leaving his post at the KPK, the police general became embroiled in an internal KPK investigation into alleged ethics violations for meddling in a graft investigation implicating a former governor.

He was pictured posing on a tennis court with former NTB governor M. Zainul Majdi, commonly known as Tuan Guru Bajang (TGB). The picture was dated May last year, the same month that KPK investigators questioned TGB as a witness in a corruption case involving the divestment of gold and copper mining company PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara.

The 2002 KPK Law forbids its employees making contact with suspects or other parties implicated in corruption cases handled by the antigraft body, with a punishment of five years’ imprisonment for violators.

The KPK started an ethics probe into Firli in September last year, when the photo of him posing with TGB came to light. The internal team, however, had yet to come to a conclusion when Tito recalled and appointed him as the new South Sumatra Police chief.

KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah said the antigraft body had not issued any ruling on the alleged ethics violation because Firli had returned to the police and so the KPK internal team no longer had any jurisdiction to continue the investigation.

“[The end of Firli’s tour of duty] hindered us from enforcing our ethical standards. We might deliberate this ethical enforcement issue with other institutions that second their employees to us, especially regarding employees who have been recalled by their original agencies,” Febri said.

Graft watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Kurnia Ramadhana said the police ignored the track record of their personnel as Firli had problematic actions during his year with the KPK, including the alleged ethics code violation.

He also noted that KPK employees had once launched a petition protesting a serious internal problem within the body’s law enforcement division during Firli’s term. The alleged problems included a high risk of information leakage, difficulties in conducting searches and special treatment for certain witnesses.

Poengky dismissed such criticism. “I heard that Firli has been cleared of any charges. If he was found guilty of violating ethics, he wouldn’t have been promoted.”

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