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Anticorruption campaigners call for Jokowi to intervene in KPK race
Anticorruption campaigners have objected to "problematic" candidates being considered for KPK commissioner posts.
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National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian (left) inaugurates Insp. Gen. Firli (second from right) as the new South Sumatra Police chief on June 25. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
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nticorruption campaigners have called on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to intervene in the selection of the new Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) commissioners to prevent the credibility and integrity of body from being undermined.
“There are indications of a systematic effort to weaken the KPK. The selection process could lead to the weakening of the institution, the President should take action to stop this,” Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) chairwoman Asfinawati said during a discussion on Sunday at the YLBHI headquarters in Menteng, Central Jakarta.
Asfinawati said the selection team, tasked with selecting the new commissioners of the antigraft body, had shown a lack of moral and legal judgement by allowing several candidates with dubious track records to advance in the selection process.
Speaking during the same event, Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Kurnia Ramadhana described South Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Firli, National Police Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) deputy chief Insp. Gen. Antam Novambar and National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN) vice chairman Insp. Gen. Dharma Pongrekun as “problematic” candidates.
Firli – who served as KPK deputy head for law enforcement from April 2018 until last month – came under investigation for an alleged ethics breach last year amid accusations he had meddled in a corruption case implicating former West Nusa Tenggara governor M. Zainul Majdi, popularly known as Tuan Guru Bajang (TGB). Firli admitted to having met TGB, but denied the accusations, claiming that the KPK commissioners had declared he had not violated the ethics code.
The ICW also alleges that Antam intimidated in 2015 then-KPK law enforcement deputy head Endang Tarsa into providing a favorable testimony for then-National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan. Antam denied the accusations back in 2015 and did not respond when contacted by The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
At that time, Budi faced allegations he had accepted bribes and gratuities amounting to Rp 95 billion (US$6.7 million) while head of the National Police’s career development bureau, a position he held from 2004 to 2005 with the rank of brigadier general. Budi, who now leads the nation’s spy agency, was cleared of all charges.
