KPK leaders throw their hands up

Ardila Syakriah and Ghina Ghaliya
The Jakarta Post

PREMIUM

Jakarta / Sat, September 14, 2019 / 05:00 pm

We’re done here: Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Agus Rahardjo, accompanied by KPK commissioners Saut Situmorang and Laode Muhammad Syarif, speaks to journalists in a press conference at the KPK headquarters in South Jakarta on Friday. They handed back their mandates for KPK leadership to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to express their disappointment over his support for the planned revision of the KPK Law.(JP/Seto Wardhana)

In response to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s go-ahead for the deliberation of a law amendment that is expected to weaken the country’s antigraft agency, three senior Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officials said on Friday that they would return their mandates to the President. KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo and deputy chairmen Saut Situmorang and Laode Muhammad Syarif held a press conference on Friday evening in response to the President’s approval for the deliberation of the amendment of the 2002 KPK Law, which could, among other changes, limit the KPK’s ability to use wiretapping during an investigation. Although it was thought by many that their abrupt announcement amounted to their resignation, they did not confirm this. "After thorough consideration, we as the highest people in charge of the KPK, with a heavy heart, declare t...

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