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 today that we will hand over the responsibility for the KPK to the President. We'll wait for the President's instructions as to whether we are still to be trusted until [their end of tenure in] December and whether we should operate as usual," Agus said.

Agus said the KPK leaders were shocked to learn about the surprise deliberation of the law after it had been stalled for the past two years. The House of Representatives’ announcement on the deliberation two weeks ago coincided with the final selection process of the next batch of KPK leaders, who will start their tenure in December.

He said the antigraft agency leaders had never been informed about the draft amendment and they would wait for the President to invite them to discuss the matter, as the KPK had never been involved in talks regarding the law's revision.

"We, up to today, never saw the draft of the law revision. It feels like deliberations on the draft were done secretly. I've also heard a rumor that the draft will be agreed very soon. This makes us question their interest in rushing ahead with the passing of the law," he said.

"We hope the President will take measures to save [the KPK] soon," he added

Jokowi had said earlier on Friday that he supported several controversial articles in the amendment, including a provision to limit the KPK's wiretapping authority, a move that could hinder it in prosecuting large corruption cases.

Jokowi said he decided to allow the deliberation of the amendment, which was initiated by the House, since the law was 17 years old and therefore needed updates to strengthen the KPK.

He emphasized that the amendment should focus on four matters, namely wiretapping, recruitment of investigators, investigation coordination with the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and on wealth reports (LHKPN).

He argued that he did not approve the lawmakers’ proposal to require the KPK to ask for a court permit for wiretapping, but rather that the antigraft body should get an internal permit from a supervisory board.

“The existence of a supervisory board is necessary, because all state institutions, the president, the Supreme Court, the House of Representatives, work within the principle of 'checks and balances', watching over each other, to prevent abuses of power,” said Jokowi.

He said the new supervisory board should be part of the KPK’s internal mechanism, but its members should comprise public figures, academics and antigraft activists, not politicians, bureaucrats or active law enforcement officers.

Jokowi also supports the KPK being able to issue investigation termination warrants (SP3), an authority that currently does not exist, to allow the antigraft body to terminate any investigation once it has been initiated.

The government's problem inventory list (DIM) for the proposed amendment, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, states that Jokowi agrees with almost all the controversial articles in the House's draft, including requiring the KPK to ask for a permit to conduct wiretapping.

According to the DIM, the government only clearly opposes three points: the proposed requirement that the commission consult the AGO when it comes to sentences demanded for suspects, the provision that KPK investigators should only be police officers or prosecutors and that wealth reports should be given to ministries or institutions instead of the KPK.

Just two days after Jokowi sent a letter to the House approving the deliberation, the government and lawmakers held two meetings on Thursday and Friday to deliberate the bill with the expectation it would be law by the month's end.

Antigraft activists have lambasted Jokowi and the government for their lack of efforts to protect the KPK.

On the proposal for the supervisory board, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) noted that the difference between the proposals of the House and the government only lay in the mechanism of the board selection, while its functions remained the same.

"The consequence is that the KPK's wiretapping process will slow down, and it could even lose opportunities to detect corruption. [...] As a result, the KPK's law enforcement performance could drastically change for the worse. A Constitutional Court ruling says that wiretapping could potentially breach individual privacy, that's why all wiretapping authority, not only by the KPK, should be regulated in a specific law," the group said.

ICW coordinator Adnan Topan Husodo said Jokowi’s support for the deliberation showed that there was “a major plan” to stop investigation into graft cases involving political party members and government officials and lawmakers.

The watchdog also lambasted the government and the House for not accommodating the wishes of the people, including organizations and public figures, who highlighted serious problems in the selection process, suggesting that the process had "merely become the business of a few political elites".

Transparency International Indonesia (TII) secretary-general Dadang Trisasongko said that looking through the points on the government’s DIM, Jokowi’s stance was not much different from that of the lawmakers.

He said that overall the list had the same spirit as the proposed draft.

“It still weakens [the KPK], but comes covered in sugar,” he said.

_______________________

Ready for the job?

The House of Representatives elected five new KPK leaders out of 10 candidates during a confirmation hearing on Thursday night.

Insp. Gen. Firli Bahuri was voted chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) by the House of Representatives after securing the most votes from the lawmakers during a confirmation hearing on Friday.

Firli is by no means a new name to the antigraft body — but not for the best of reasons.

The two-star general graduated from the Police Academy in 1990, and had a rather rapid career development in the police force. Firli has led several provincial police headquarters, including in West Nusa Tenggara and South Sumatra. He was also known as the adjutant of former vice president Boediono.

The 56-year-old was inaugurated as the KPK's law enforcement chief in April 2018. He beat nine other candidates for the post, all of whom were from the Attorney General’s Office (AGO). He was later suspended by the KPK leaders after alleged ethics violations, including meeting with then-West Nusa Tenggara governor M. Zainul Majdi who was at that time a witness in a corruption case pertaining to the divestment of gold and copper mining company PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara.

During a confirmation hearing at the House on Thursday, Firli conceded that he met Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri in November last year for an investigation.

Nurul is the dean of the School of Law at the University of Jember in Jember, East Java. He is the youngest and the only academic of all five elected commissioners.

The 44-year-old was born in Sumenep, a regency located on Madura Island, East Java. He used to be a lawyer before working as an academic and was reportedly in the process of running in the rector election at the university.

When asked by the lawmakers about the KPK’s contested authority to issue investigation termination warrants (SP3) during the confirmation hearing, Nurul argued that such authority was "inevitable" and agreed that the authority should be applied on several conditions.

He went on to say that not all investigation processes would automatically lead to the truth and that no procedures could avoid mistakes.

"So in [my] view the SP3 is an inevitable system because our criminal justice system is based on [state ideology] Pancasila, which is religious in nature," he said.

Nawawi is a judge from North Bolaang Mongondow, North Sulawesi.

The 57-year-old was born in North Bolaang Mongondow, North Sulawesi, and has been serving as a judge at the Denpasar District Court in Bali since 2017. He is the first career judge to be elected as a leader of the antigraft body.

After graduating from Sam Ratulangi University in Manado, North Sulawesi, in 1986, Nawawi started his judge career at the Soasio Tidore District Court in North Maluku in 1992.

He then faced several tours of duty and promotion, including serving as the Poso Court chief in Central Sulawesi in 2010, Bandung Court deputy chief in West Java 2011, Samarinda Court chief in East Kalimantan in 2015 and East Jakarta District Court chief in 2016.

During his time at the East Jakarta Court, he was also assigned to the Jakarta Corruption Court. Among the corruption cases that he presided over were the graft cases of former Constitutional Court justice Patrialis Akbar and former chairman of the Regional Representatives Council Irman Gusman.

Lili is the only woman to be elected as a KPK commissioner this term.

The 53-year-old, who was born in Tanjung Pandan, Bangka Belitung, is known as a long-time human rights advocate. She attained her bachelor's degree from the School of Law at the North Sumatra Islamic University (UISU) in 1991.

After she graduated, she started her advocacy career as a public defender assistant at the Medan Legal Aid Institute (LBH Medan), advocating for farmers and fisherfolk in need of legal assistance in the city. Between 2013 and 2018, she served as the deputy head of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK).

After her tenure at the LPSK ended, she worked at her private law consultation firm.

She is known for providing assistance to justice collaborators in a graft case involving Comr. Gen. (ret) Susno Duadji and another one involving the 2012 Southeast Asian Games project in Jaka Baring, Palembang.

During the House confirmation hearing, she expressed her wish to provide better graft witness protection by improving the relationship between the KPK and the LPSK.

The incumbent KPK commissioner will serve his second consecutive term for the next five years.

Born in Klaten, Central Java, the 52-year-old graduated from the National College of Accounting (STAN) in Jakarta before attaining his bachelor's degree from the School of Law at the University of Indonesia in 1995.

Alexander was one of three incumbent commissioners who applied for the KPK leadership alongside Basaria Panjaitan and Laode Muhammad Syarif, both of whom failed to be among the 20 candidates shortlisted by the selection committee.

During the House's confirmation hearing, Alexander was asked about his view regarding a press conference held by KPK deputy chief Saut Situmorang on Wednesday to reveal the alleged "gross ethical violations" by Insp. Gen. Firli Bahuri, to which he responded by saying that the briefing was illegitimate as it was not known about beforehand by some of the leaders, including himself.

"I don't want to comment on other candidates, I don't want to comment on the selection process because I'm involved. It's what I avoid the most," he said.

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