REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SUKABUMI -- President Joko Widodo here, Friday, reiterated his decision to not interfere in the affairs of the country's anti-graft agency, stating that it is an independent institution.
He informed newsmen that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is an independent institution, and hence, he will never interfere in its functioning.
"I will not interfere. (I made this statement) in case one brings it up later," he noted.
The president said his statement was also applicable in the case of one of the KPK directors who had recently met the summons of the special committee of the House of Representatives (DPR).
"The special committee on the KPK comes under the jurisdiction of the DPR, which is a legislative body. That is the DPR's right. The special committee is the DPR's right. It is its right to investigate," he explained.
President Widodo has called on all parties to really comprehend the distribution of authority among institutions.
"People must, please, really understand it. They need to understand the difference between legislative, executive, and the KPK. Please see to it," he emphasized.
The DPR has set up a special inquiry committee after the KPK had arrested one of its members over corruption charges and revealed the names of other involved DPR members, saying that the member in question was pressured into revealing the names.
The committee has met several parties, including corruption convicts, to uncover if the KPK had violated rules.
In the latest incident, the committee had summoned Brigadier General Aris Budiman, KPK's director of investigation, who revealed that the KPK investigators were divided.
He also claimed that one of his subordinates in the KPK former police officer Novel Baswedan had spread slander against him through an email, and in connection with it, he had reported him to the police.
Baswedan had been attacked with acid and is now still being treated in Singapore after revealing the names of DPR members allegedly involved in the E-ID card project, including House Speaker Setya Novanto.
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