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The ‘unholy’ alliance to save the KPK from political hijacking
Only by supporting Syahrul and the police in their investigation into Firli and other KPK leaders can civil society groups further their cause to start the KPK reform.
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Ready to serve: Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leadership candidate Insp. Gen. Firli Bahuri of the National Police salutes House of Representatives members during a fit and proper test session for his candidacy at the House complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Sept. 19, 2019. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
The current saga between ex-minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo and Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Firli Bahuri over alleged extortion by the latter presents a rare yet ironic opportunity that civil society groups cannot miss if they want to reform the antigraft body.
The KPK has been hijacked by power under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, whose government has weakened the institution by colluding with the House of Representatives to revise the KPK Law in 2019 before installing Firli, a police general with a notorious track record on anticorruption, as KPK chairman.
The recent allegations that Firli has extorted Syahrul, who the KPK has named a suspect, is unsurprising given Firli’s leadership style, marked by his penchant for meeting individuals in the KPK spotlight and leaking information about the KPK's ongoing investigations.
Anticorruption activists have frequently reported Firli to the KPK supervisory committee over various cases of misconduct, including his encounter with individuals under investigation such as graft suspect Lukas Enembe, the then Papua governor in 2022, but their reports have barely had any impact on Firli’s standing at the KPK.
In addition, civil society groups and prominent figures challenged the revised KPK Law that has pretty much clipped the graft buster’s wings, but the Constitutional Court, whose chief justice is Jokowi’s brother-in-law, unsurprisingly rejected their judicial review motion in 2021.
Instead, earlier this year, the court extended the term of KPK leaders from four to five years, citing the normal practice in other state institutions As a result, Firli and four other KPK leaders can stay in power until after the elections in 2024, raising fears that Firli’s KPK could criminalize the opposition ahead and during the political year.
