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KPK dumps cases as credibility slumps
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has revealed a plan to drop 36 investigations due to a lack of evidence in a move that is unlikely to shore up its already battered public image
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span>The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has revealed a plan to drop 36 investigations due to a lack of evidence in a move that is unlikely to shore up its already battered public image.
The KPK has not publicly disclosed the list of cases for which investigations will be terminated, but they are likely to include some high-profile cases that the agency has sat on for months or even years without any sign they would be brought to court. By definition, the KPK only deals with high-level corruption scandals.
The KPK has suffered huge credibility problems following a hastily enacted law that effectively removed its independence and many of its tools, including wiretapping, to investigate corruption cases. To top it all, the House of Representatives, no friend of the KPK, named new commissioners in December who had already said they were not interested so much in prosecuting cases as in preventing corruption.
The timing of the decision to drop the 36 cases may turn out to be misjudged. A new survey shows that the KPK, which had always enjoyed a high public image rating, has slumped to fourth place for the first time.
The survey by Indo Barometer said the KPK trailed behind the Indonesian Military, the President and Islamic mass organizations Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah as the national institutions most trusted by the public.
“Usually the KPK always ranks in the top three, along with the President and the military,” Indo Barometer executive director Muhammad Qodari said.
The KPK’s public image took a further beating last month when it failed to solve the case of a little known but clearly highly connected politician in the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) who allegedly bribed the electoral commission to secure a vacant seat in the House. KPK chairman Firli Bahuri, a senior police officer, even fired the case’s lead investigators.
This added to the list of high-profile corruption cases the KPK has yet to finish, such as capturing the remaining suspects in the Bank Indonesia liquiditysupport (BLBI) corruption case in 2000 and the PT Pelindo II corruption case in 2010, which cost the country an estimated Rp 138.7 trillion (US$9.9 billion) and Rp 6 trillion in state losses
respectively.
The dropping of the 36 ongoing corruption investigations is the first wave under the leadership of KPK chairman Comr. Gen. Firli Bahuri.
The KPK said terminating investigations was not unprecedented, pointing out that the agency had closed 162 cases in the last five years.
Investigations would be reopened if there was new evidence, KPK spokesperson Ali Fikri told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Gadjah Mada University Center for Corruption Studies (Pukat UGM) activist Zaenur Rohman said the new KPK Law and the controversial new leaders were the prime reasons for the declining public trust revealed by the Indo Barometer survey.
“Because the KPK is no longer powerful, the people are no longer thrilled, so its popularity is going down. It will also be harder for the KPK to expose corruption cases,” Zaenur told the Post on Tuesday.
People are also disappointed that the KPK is more focused on preventing rather than exposing corruption cases, Zaenur said.
The decision to dump 36 cases seemed rushed since Firli and the other commissioners had only been in their positions for two months, he said.
Corruption watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) noted the unusually large number of cases being dropped, when the KPK on average terminated two investigations a month.
ICW activist Kurnia Ramadhana found it strange that the KPK had already made the announcement, considering that the cases were still in the preliminary investigation stage.
“This should not be regarded as an achievement by KPK leaders. Besides, it is also mandated in the Public Information Disclosure Law that preliminary investigation processes are not for public consumption,” Kurnia told the Post on Tuesday.
He added that there was also a possible conflict of interest as the KPK had disclosed that some of the subjects being investigated were law enforcers, given that Firli was still an active police officer. Other than law enforcers, the KPK disclosed that the terminated investigations involved district heads, state-owned enterprises, ministries, institutions and lawmakers.
Zaenur said the KPK should take heed of the survey as a warning.
“This is a crucial period for the KPK because the public sees that the KPK is getting weaker. They may demand the KPK be dissolved or for the House and the President restore the commission to its original state,” he said.
“The only ones that benefit from the KPK’s declining performance are those involved in corruption.” (mfp)
