The Corruption Eradication Commission, Which Still Expects Jokowi's New Corruption Eradication Strategy

KPK Red and White Building (Wardhany Tsa Tsia / VOI)

JAKARTA - Towards the end of 2019, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said this year was the toughest year for them. However, this anti-graft agency remains confident in continuing to eradicate corruption and thinks positively if President Joko Widodo has new steps to eradicate corruption.

At least this is what KPK Chairman Agus Rahardjo believes in. He said, maybe President Jokowi as commander of corruption eradication has a new strategy to eradicate corruption crimes.

"We must always hope that even though 2019 is a tough year, maybe we also need to reflect on whether there is a new strategy that our corruption eradication commander wants to introduce," Agus told reporters in Jakarta, Sunday, December 8.

"We are talking that the commander is always the president, then the vice president is the vice president," he added.

Although he does not yet know what strategy President Jokowi used, Agus hopes that results will be obtained. He asked the public to continue to monitor and control the corruption eradication strategy in the future.

In addition, Agus also requested that the KPK and the public always remind each other to fight against corruption. This is because corruption which is considered an extraordinary crime continues to occur in Indonesia.

So that in order to eradicate corruption, Agus emphasized that maximum endurance and patience are needed. "It takes patience, it takes high endurance for us to always fight against corruption," he said.

In hindsight, the road to eradicating corruption by the KPK has indeed been quite winding this year. After the election of the Chairperson of the KPK for the 2019-2023 period, Firli Bahuri, who was deemed inappropriate for leadership because he had violated the code of ethics while serving as KPK Investigation Director, this anti-corruption agency was faced with the passing of the new KPK Law regulated in Law 19/2019.

The KPK Law 19/2019 is considered to weaken anti-corruption institutions because of several problematic articles, such as the issue of the KPK Supervisory Board which will later be tasked with providing wiretapping and confiscation permits. Not only that, this council will also sign the letter to start the investigation.

Talking about the KPK Supervisory Board, Agus Rahardjo has said that the institution he leads is the law enforcement agency. So, there is no reason for them to oppose the existence of a supervisory board that has only existed for the first time within the KPK.

However, the deputy chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission, Saut Situmorang, emphasized that those who fill the position of the supervisory board should not only be smart, honest, diligent, and courageous.

"People who have integrity should be chosen," he said to reporters in Jakarta, Sunday, December 8.

He hopes that the five people who will sit as the KPK Supervisory Board must have a strong legal and economic legal background. Because, reflecting on the KPK Law 19/2019, having an economic legal background seems to be needed by those who sit in that position.

Saut assessed that the names of those who would sit on the supervisory board might be easy to find. However, there are other things that make the election of the KPK Supervisory Board must be done carefully.

"The choices can come from many people, but the main thing is integrity. What is difficult about this integrity is that people can change, integrity and track records can also change," he said.

Meanwhile, President Jokowi is still looking for a candidate for the supervisory board. He emphasized that he would choose people with integrity and have a good track record.

"We want to choose of course a good track record, good integrity, who have experience in the field of law, in the criminal field, as well as in the audit audit," Jokowi said some time ago at the Merdeka Palace, Central Jakarta.

Jokowi said that the process of selecting the supervisory board, which consists of one chairman and four deputies, is currently in an internal selection process. "This is still internal screening at the State Secretariat. So it is not yet in the finalization process," he said.

Previously, Minister of State Secretary (Mensesneg) Pratikno was the leader of the internal selection team for the KPK Supervisory Board. Apart from Pratikno, there are also names of Presidential Spokesperson Fadjroel Rachman, Presidential Staff Coordinator Ari Dwipayana, Stafsus President Dini Purwono and Sukardi Rinakit.

The KPK Supervisory Board is planned to be inaugurated together with the KPK leadership for the 2019-2023 period on December 21, 2019. The existence of this supervisory board is also the first time in the scope of an anti-graft agency.