Understanding KPK's Objection To Working Under The Board Of Supervisors

KPK Building (Wardhany Tsa Tsia/VOI)

JAKARTA - The polemic over the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Supervisory Board is still ongoing. Various views have emerged regarding the council that was born from Law Number 19 of 2019 concerning Amendments to the KPK Law. Some are supportive, although many are against it.

The KPK internal itself is the group that rejects it. This is because the council, which will be elected by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), is considered to make the prosecution efforts ineffective and inefficient.

Deputy Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission, Saut Situmorang, even conveyed this in front of members of Commission III DPR RI during a Hearing Meeting (RDP). This commission was also the one that approved the new KPK Law which took effect on 17 October.

"This new law is what makes us inefficient in fact. But, I believe corruption will never stop. It's just inefficient," said Saut in a meeting held at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Central Jakarta, Wednesday, November 27.

According to Saut, the Supervisory Board has made the flow of decision making at the anti-graft institution even more verbose. Regarding the granting of wiretapping permits, for example. With the enactment of the new rules, the KPK leadership must now seek approval from the council first.

"You can imagine, so far we usually sign it directly to the investigator, today it must be Dewas," he said.

Apart from Saut, in a special interview with VOI, KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah also said that with a supervisory board the search, wiretapping and confiscation procedures would be more layered.

Moreover, there are five supervisory boards that will give approval later and this is considered to be slowing down the performance of the KPK.

"What about when we learned about the incident (corruption) and had to carry out, for example wiretapping, but the procedure (permit application) took days and the transaction was completed," said Febri when we met at the KPK's Red and White House Library, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta. , Wednesday, November 20.

"Is that what the legislators want? Isn't that a serious question too," he added.

The former anti-corruption activist believes that confiscation, searches and wiretaps are crucial in the work of investigating corruption cases. The execution also takes fast time. This problem is what is burdensome for KPK internals. Problems that must be immediately sought for a solution.

It's not just a matter of layered and long procedures. Febri also said that the existence of this council would make the KPK leaders unable to carry out their duties as law enforcers who have the authority to carry out investigations and prosecutions as public prosecutors.

"So, the question is, is it possible that the leadership of a law enforcement agency is not a law enforcer? This logic is a logic that is difficult to accept. And at the level of implementation it must be difficult for the operations to be carried out," he said.

KPK Spokesperson Febri Diansyah (Mahesa ARK / VOI)

There is also concern that the risk of layering the Supervisory Board will interfere with wiretapping efforts to seek evidence of corruption. In fact, the KPK said the results of their wiretapping of the perpetrators of corruption were irrefutable and became complete evidence.

"Wiretapping at the KPK is always a concern. We suspect that this happened because being present at the trial made the defendants' denial or neglect always be denied and denied," said Febri.

The KPK spokesman assessed that without a supervisory board, wiretapping could not be carried out carelessly, as accused by politicians. There is a long procedure that must be carried out by the KPK and in collaboration with telecommunications service providers.

"There are technical aspects that must be fulfilled. You can't just tap someone at will. For example, if there was a parallel telephone in the past, if you want to listen, you just have to pick up the other phone. It's not like that," he said.

The long procedure, which Febri said, is not for public consumption either, will later be audited by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics after the wiretapping is complete. "The audit is post-tapping and what the procedure looks like is not substance. Because substance is the domain of law enforcers," he said.

The DPR's denial

The Supervisory Board, which was considered to have made the performance of the KPK not optimal and efficient, was later denied by the Deputy Chairman of Commission III of the DPR RI, Ahmad Sahroni. This NasDem politician said that the existence of KPK supervisors was actually needed by this anti-graft agency.

"In fact, the existence of this Supervisory Board will be very useful for harmonizing the internal performance of the KPK, so that legal procedures are carried out in accordance with the rules and do not collide with each other," said Sahroni when answering Saut's statement in the RDP of Commission III of the DPR RI and the KPK.

He also claimed that this supervisory board would not suppress the independence of the KPK. This is because the supervisory board will be inside the anti-corruption agency internally.

"This supervisory board is not an external institution of the KPK, but they are within the KPK body. They are an internal KPK institution, so their existence is actually important to ensure that the KPK works according to its duties," said Sahroni.

Regarding the supervisory board that will be sworn in at the same time as the five new KPK leaders, Minister of State Secretary Praktikno is being asked by President Jokowi to lead the internal team. The task of this team is to select those who are considered to be able to occupy the position.

"Meanwhile, it is under Pak Pratikno. All processes are under Pak Pratikno," said Presidential Palace spokesman Fadjroel Rachman in Jakarta, Thursday, November 7.

This stage of searching for candidates for the supervisory board will be carried out by inviting a number of competent community leaders to be consulted. "There are people who are asked for advice, there are people who convey it through the State Secretariat or directly to the President," he explained.

The criteria required for a supervisory board position are 55 years of age and a minimum of S1 education in accordance with the new KPK Law. Not only that, it is almost similar to the election for the leadership of the KPK, the supervisory board is also required to have qualifications in the fields of education, law and banking.

Fadjroel also emphasized that the public does not need to worry because later the supervisory board of the anti-graft institution will be selected selectively, credibly, and competently.