REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The president's decision to temporarily discharge Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK's) suspected leaders and replace his sole police chief candidate can temporarily diffuse the tension between the KPK and National Police (Polri), according to SETARA Institute.
"However, it is a pity that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) did not take steps towards the possibility of continued efforts to criminalize the KPK and its investigators," Hendardi, the chairman of SETARA Institute, a non-governmental organization that promotes democracy, stated on Wednesday night.
On Wednesday evening, President Jokowi announced that he has replaced his sole candidate for National Police chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan with Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti.
Budi Gunawan, after being nominated by the president, was named as a suspect in an alleged corruption case by the KPK, but the South Jakarta District Court later ruled that his naming as a suspect by the KPK was illegitimate.
The president also announced that he has temporarily discharged KPK Chairman Abraham Samad and Deputy Chairman Bambang Widjojanto. He will also issue a government regulation in lieu of the law (Perppu) to appoint acting successors of the KPK leaders.
Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto have also been named as suspects respectively in document falsification and false testimony cases by the police.
The reciprocal naming of the leaders of the KPK and Polri as suspects had created a standoff and tension between the two law enforcement institutions since last month.
With regard to the case of the KPK leaders and investigators, according to Hendardi, President Jokowi is adopting a neutral approach by affirming the suspect status of Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto and replacing them with acting leaders.
Hendardi stated that the "neutral" step taken by the president on alleged KPK criminalization, which inclined to weaken the institution, can obviously invite "stowaways" who might intend to cripple the anti-graft body.
"President Jokowi should therefore be serious about reinforcing the KPK after the police named two of its leaders as suspects," Hendardi stated.
He noted that President Jokowi should use his position as the supreme commander of police to ensure that the Polri will not take counterproductive steps.
"Criminalization will continue to pose a threat to the KPK as an institution and its investigators and employees," he noted.
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