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Firli instrumental in lobbying for KPK civic test, sources tell IndonesiaLeaks
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National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Choirul Anam (second left) talks to journalists in Jakarta on May 24 after receiving a report from senior Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan (left) and other employees pertaining to the civic knowledge test for KPK employees. (Antara/M. Risyal Hidayat)
C
orruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Firli Bahuri allegedly demanded that the agency's employees take the controversial civic knowledge test as part of the procedure to convert their status to that of civil servants, according to a new report by independent whistleblower platform IndonesiaLeaks.
The idea to hold the test as part of the transition process for KPK employees was first proposed by Firli in a meeting with fellow KPK leaders and high-ranking officials on Jan. 5, sources told the IndonesiaLeaks team, as reported by Koran Tempo daily, which participated in the collaborative investigation.
The KPK workers’ transition to civil servant status is mandated by the 2019 KPK Law, which was passed after speedy deliberation despite strong opposition from the public.
“He was enthusiastic when arguing for the need to hold a civic test,” a KPK worker who knew about the meeting told IndonesiaLeaks, as reported by Koran Tempo.
Firli went on to argue that the test was necessary to prove that the KPK employees were loyal to Pancasila, the state ideology, and the Constitution. Firli’s proposal was briefly opposed by KPK deputy chairman Alexander Marwata, who instead argued that a letter signed by the KPK employees declaring their allegiance to Pancasila and the Constitution should be sufficient to address Firli’s concerns.
Read also: ‘Racist, unnecessary’: How controversial test seen as pretext to fire top KPK employees
Firli, however, remained insistent on the test, saying it needed to be held to root out elements within the KPK that he referred to as the “Taliban”, or Muslim radicals believed to oppose Pancasila, IndonesiaLeaks wrote in a series of tweets from its Twitter account @inaleaks on Sunday.
