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Bribery scandal litmus test for antigraft body
“The KPK is in a dilemma, for it now has to choose whether it wants to uphold its integrity as a law enforcement agency or to halt the case, given the fact that it involves members of a leading ruling party and that the KPK has become a part of the administration under the 2019 KPK Law.
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Hard evidence: Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) commissioner Lili Pintauli Siregar (center) and General Elections Commission (KPU) head Arief Budiman (left) listen to questions raised by journalists in a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday on the arrest of KPU commissioner Wahyu Setiawan over alleged bribery. The investigators confiscated Rp 400 million (US$28,899) allegedly related to the case. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
T
he bribery case involving members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the nation's largest party of which President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is a member, has become a litmus test for whether the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is effective under a new law critics say was designed to declaw it.
The bribery scandal, in which a PDI-P legislative candidate is accused of bribing a General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner to become a lawmaker, has come under public scrutiny as it is also the first high-profile case taken by the antigraft body under its new leader, Firli Bahuri.
Firli's appointment as KPK chief stirred controversy, with antigraft activists accusing the active police officer of committing ethics breaches while serving as the KPK law enforcement chief.
“Looking at the situation, I think it’s a perfect test for the KPK,” Zaenur Rohman, a researcher of Gadjah Mada University’s Center for Anticorruption Studies (Pukat UGM), told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
“The KPK is in a dilemma, for it now has to choose whether it wants to uphold its integrity as a law enforcement agency or to halt the case, given the fact that it involves members of a leading ruling party and that the KPK has become a part of the administration under the 2019 KPK Law."
The antigraft commission has asserted it will continue its investigation into the case, saying that it plans to conduct raids at several locations and has not ruled out the possibility of questioning PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto for his alleged role in the bribery case.
"With regard to the handling of the KPU case, the investigators have coordinated with the [KPK supervisory council]. The permit needed to conduct raids has been signed by the council," KPK acting spokesman Ali Fikri said.
