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Police under fire for keeping Firli on duty
With his current position on the force, the police have broken several laws that stipulate those about to become KPK leaders should be stripped of any active roles outside the commission to maintain their independence.
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Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Comr. Gen. Firli Bahuri gestures in the House of Representatives in Jakarta while undergoing a selection process for the position. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he National Police are being slammed for maintaining Comr. Gen. Firli Bahuri in his position on the force even after he was inaugurated as the new chief of the country’s antigraft commission.
Firli, who was installed as the chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) last week, is still listed as an analyst in the police’s Security Maintenance Agency (Baharkam). He stepped down from his position as the agency's head a day before the inauguration.
With his current position on the force, the police have broken several laws that stipulate those about to become KPK leaders should be stripped of any active roles outside the commission to maintain their independence.
Article 29 of the KPK Law stipulates that KPK leaders have to meet several requirements, including freeing themselves from other positions in other institutions and quitting their professions while conducting their duties at the KPK.
Andalas University’s Constitutional Studies Center (Pusako) director Feri Amsari said that Firli’s positions on two law enforcement institutions also violated Law No. 28/1999 on clean governance, which stipulates that any official at a government agency should not hold any title from another government institution. He said that the law was also applied to the KPK.
Therefore, he demanded Firli step down from his position at the National Police if he wants to retain his position as KPK chairman. “Having a double function in two law enforcement institutions will only make him unprofessional and prone to any intervention while undertaking his tasks,” Feri said.
The inauguration of five new KPK leaders led by Firli, along with five members of the KPK supervisory council, have met with skeptical responses from members of the public who are still disappointed that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo agreed to pass a revision of the KPK Law that clipped the strategic authority of the KPK.
