Assessment Of The National Insight Test For KPK Employees Is Considered The Way To Get Rid Of Those With Integrity

Gedung KPK (Irfan Meidianto/VOI)

JAKARTA - Several employees of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) reportedly did not pass the assessment of the transfer of status as State Civil Apparatus (ASN) so they were threatened with being eliminated. This has led to various speculations, including the assessment of national insight tests as a way to get rid of KPK employees with integrity.

The news about the failure of several KPK employees in this assessment has been busy since Monday, May 3 yesterday. As for those who reportedly did not qualify, one of them was KPK senior investigator Novel Baswedan and several Head of the Task Force investigating other corruption cases.

One of the suspects that this assessment had been designed to get rid of these employees was the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW). ICW researcher, Kurnia Ramadhana said that this assessment had been in bed since the beginning and was the last episode to finish off the KPK.

"The failure to pass several employees in the national insight test was designed from the start as the final episode to finish off and kill the KPK", he said in a written statement received by VOI, Tuesday, May 4.

This assessment is based on several real and continuous events. "Starting from destroying anti-graft institutions with the new Corruption Eradication Commission Law, adding to the controversy over the leadership of Firli Bahuri, and this time employees known for their integrity have been removed", said Kurnia.

Furthermore, he said that this chaotic condition could not be separated from the role of resident Joko Widodo and all members of the Indonesian Parliament. This is because these two branches of power finally agreed to revise the Corruption Eradication Commission Law and include controversial rules in the form of a transfer of employment status to the State Civil Apparatus.

Not to forget, this is also the fruit of the bad policy of the KPK Commissioner when it ratifies the Corruption Eradication Commission Regulation Number 1 of 2021 which includes a national insight test assessment", he said.

Director of the Center for Constitutional Studies, Andalas University, Feri Amsari, also agrees that there is something wrong with the assessment. He explained several problems from the test transfer of the status of the Corruption Eradication Commission employees.

"The test contains things that are odd and far-fetched. For example, questions related to FPI (Islamic Defenders Front) and employee opinions on government programs", said Feri.

This question, he continued, is unethical. This is because KPK employees are prohibited from dealing with debates and are also prohibited from showing support for government programs.

"Because the program could be related to a corruption case", he said.

So, he considered that the test was not by the new KPK Law. In addition, this assessment is more than the will of the KPK leadership through commission regulations so that it is administratively problematic.

Not only that, but Feri also considered that the assessment with the odd questions was a form of arbitrariness by state administrators. The reason is, this test does not seem as open as the Civil Servant Candidate test (CPNS).

"Apart from being carried out not openly like other civil servant tests, it is also carried out repeatedly on employees because it is the umpteenth test. Where are people being tested many times like KPK employees? Moreover, they are closed. The KPK loses to other institutions whose test results were opened after the test took place", he said.

Feri believes this test is a way to cross employees with integrity. Including the Heads of Task Forces who are handling high-profile corruption cases.

"This test is a way to justify the removal of figures who are handling mega corruption cases, in case of cases involving politicians and people who hold internal positions that are important for the integrity of the KPK in the future", he said.

Questioned and criticized by the former KPK leadership

Critical voices also came from the former head of the anti-graft commission. Former Deputy Chairman of the KPK, Saut Situmorang, spoke up by asking the suspicion that several employees were not qualified as civil servants, including Novel Baswedan.

According to him, the employees did not pass because they were hampered by the assessment of the national insight test which was quite strange. Moreover, the names who did not qualify were the old people in the anti-graft commission.

"Why does someone not graduate in an institution where he or she has worked annually whose KPI (Key Performance Indicators) has been proven?", asked Saut.

He said that the integrity of the KPK employees who had so far had independent status could not be doubted. Therefore, he regrets if this allegation really happened.

"People with integrity are people who definitely create value in the Corruption Eradication Commission and this country", he said.

In addition, Saut reminded that the process of changing the status of employees to state civil servants (ASN), such as the rules of Law 19 of 2019, should not be a step to screen people who already have good performance at the KPK. Because employees like this are needed by the KPK.

"Do not look for other justifications to screen people who are already performing and tough guys in anti-corruption law enforcement. Instead, tough guys are needed to make the country recover quickly from chronic illness," said Saut.

Saut also asked for an explanation from the KPK regarding the failure of several people which led to their dismissal. Moreover, the objective of the selection test to become ASN should be to build a better performance of corruption eradication efforts and not the other way around.

"So the selection aims to select law enforcement officers who can build performance values, because of dedication, competence, and integrity", he said.

Meanwhile, another former leader, Bambang Widjojanto, said that with the circulation of this news, signs of depleting human resources in the anti-corruption commission were increasingly being smelled.

"What is terrible, now, the fire limit of propriety has been violated. If the information in the media is correct, there are indications that KPK HR is starting to be eliminated", he said in a written statement.

Bambang said that KPK employees had been working wholeheartedly and even risked their lives to eradicate corruption. However, the situation is different now with the efforts to get rid of them.

"In fact, they want to be eliminated arbitrarily only armed with the results of the New Order Litsus-style test", said Bambang.

He pointed out that what is happening now is part of the KPK's destruction strategy. This is because cases currently being handled, starting from the alleged corruption of social assistance for COVID-19 at the Ministry of Social Affairs, bribery for lobster seed export permits, to bribery for the termination of cases in Tanjungbalai, involve people in the government.

This destruction effort has actually been carried out in a structured and systematic manner. Starting from the revision of the KPK Law to the elected leadership, all of them are full of controversy.

In this regard, the Secretary-General of the KPK, Cahya H. Harefa, said that no party knew about the results of the assessment. This is because the results of the assessment of 1,349 employees are still sealed and stored safely at the KPK's Red and White House.

It is planned that the announcement of the results of this assessment will be delivered soon. "As a form of transparency to all KPK stakeholders", said Cahya.

Thousands of these employees participated in the assessment which is a requirement for the transfer of employee status as stipulated in Commission Regulation Number 1 of 2021 concerning Procedures for the Transfer of KPK Employees to ASN.

In addition, as a KPK institution, it must indeed transfer the status of employees because it is by the mandate of the revised KPK law.

"Institutionally, the KPK is subject to the regulation that the transfer of KPK employees to ASN is the mandate of Law Number 19 of 2019 concerning the Second Amendment to Law Number 30 of 2002 concerning the Corruption Eradication Commission", he concluded.