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Lawmakers against KPK exception in wiretapping bill
In the latest draft of the bill, the antigraft body has been excluded from the legal wiretapping procedures.
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Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) (thejakartapost.com/Wienda Parwitasari)
T
he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has come under the spotlight again as lawmakers have tried to regulate the wiretapping abilities of the law enforcement body through proposed legislation.
After almost a year of delay, the House of Representatives’ Commission III overseeing legal affairs has begun to again deliberate over a bill that aims to establish uniform wiretapping procedures among all law enforcement bodies.
In the latest draft of the bill, Article 37 stipulates that all wiretapping activities of all law enforcement institutions — the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), National Narcotics Agency, the police, the Attorney General's Office and the Judicial Commission — would have to get high court approval. Only the KPK would be exempt.
The provision has been resisted by lawmakers, many of whom have for decades tried to strip the antigraft body of the authority that made it the top institution in the fight against corruption.
Lawmaker Arsul Sani from the United Development Party said there should be no exception for the KPK. He said the Constitutional Court's ruling in the judicial review over the Electronic Information and Transactions Law in 2010 concluded that wiretapping must be regulated by law.
Arsul said the bill must therefore include all institutions that have the capacity to wiretap.
Teuku Taufiqulhadi from the Nasdem Party said the country should have a law to ensure that no wiretapping would violate individual privacy, which plays a vital role in a democracy.
