Jokowi Asks Not To Be Interested In Novel Baswedan Et Al, Saut Situmorang: This Is Indeed His Job!

Former Deputy Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Saut Situmorang/Antara

JAKARTA - The former Deputy Chairperson of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Saut Situmorang, said President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) could not just let go of the fate of Novel Baswedan and 56 other employees who would be expelled at the end of September.

This follows President Jokowi's statement so that the public does not drag himself into the polemic of the National Insight Test Assessment (TWK) for KPK employees.

According to him, speaking from any aspect, both normative and state administration, when an institution is in the executive clump, the President certainly has a hand in making improvements if there is a polemic in it. Including what happened at the KPK because the sword of eradicating corruption should be the responsibility of the head of state.

"This is indeed Mr. Jokowi's job. It is his job to organize the eradication of corruption", he told VOI when contacted by telephone, Friday, September 17.

He mentioned that in other countries, the head of state always carries out checks and balances so that the eradication of corruption can run smoothly.

"So if you say don't drag it around, yes, that is Mr. Jokowi's job. You are paid for that, to keep this country clean", said Saut.

Previously reported, President Jokowi has responded to the dismissal of 57 KPK employees who were expelled due to the failure of the TWK. He was reluctant to respond and asked not to be drawn into the polemic.

Accountability, said Jokowi, rests with the Ministry of Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform (Kemenpan-RB). "Don't take anything to the President. This is a constitutional courtesy. I have to respect the ongoing legal process", he said.

For information, 57 employees can no longer work at the KPK because they cannot become ASN (State Civil Apparatus) according to the mandate of the KPK Law No. 19 of 2019. These employees include senior KPK investigators Novel Baswedan and Ambarita Damanik, Chairman of the KPK Employee Forum, Yudi Purnomo, KPK investigator Harun Al-Rashid, as well as dozens of other names.

The anti-corruption commission argued that their inability to become ASN was not due to laws and regulations such as Perkom KPK Number 1 of 2021, but because of the results of their assessment.

Not only that, but the KPK also ensures that employees have been given the same opportunity even though they have passed the age limit or have stopped being ASN before.