Not Involved In The Corruption Hunt Team, Mahfud MD: KPK Is A Special Institution

Menko Polhukam Mahfud MD (Wardhany Tsa Tsia / VOI)

JAKARTA - The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD said he would not involve the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in the Corruption Hunting Team which is regulated through a Presidential Instruction (Inpres).

"The team will involve the Attorney General's Office, the National Police, Kemenkumham, then the Ministry of Home Affairs because it also concerns population issues and other technical departments," Mahfud said in his video statement, Tuesday, July 14.

Mahfud's reason did not involve the KPK because this institution was a special institution in the field of eradicating corruption.

He also ensured that the Corruptor Hunter Team would not interfere with the work to eradicate corruption that had been carried out by the KPK.

"The KPK is a separate institution. So what the KPK is looking for is of course later coordinated separately," he said.

Regarding the Presidential Instruction which became the basis for the formation of a team that chases corruptors and pursues the assets of corruptors, the former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court admitted to having pocketed it.

"The Inpres regarding the team to hunt assets and hunt down suspects and convicted corruptors and other criminal acts is already in the hands of the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs," he said.

After this, said Mahfud, it only remains to form a team so that they can work immediately. Regarding the names who will join the team, he said, his party would hear input from the public and other institutions.

He added that other law enforcement agencies would have to work together with this team. "Because it is necessary to work together, we should not fight over and sabotage each other, but rather stick to their respective positions or the officers assigned to do that," he said.

Previously, Mahfud activated the team tasked with arresting the fugitive Djoko Sugiarto Tjandra convict in the Bank Bali case. This kind of team was formed in the era of the 6th President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Mahfud said this team, consisting of the leadership of the AGO and Kemenkumham are under the coordination of the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs.

Meanwhile, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) assessed that the reactivation of this team was deemed unnecessary. Because, apart from not being very effective because it was only able to capture 4 out of 16 capture targets, it was feared that this team would overlap with existing teams.

"The policies of this new team have the potential to overlap in terms of authority," said ICW researcher Wana Alamsyah.

Moreover, since 1996-2018 there have been 40 fugitive corruption cases who have not been arrested by law enforcers. So, instead of creating a new team, the existing law enforcers should be strengthened. One way is to take a non-formal approach with the government or law enforcement in other countries.

He said this was useful so that other countries would help and accelerate the arrest of dozens of fugitives who had fled abroad.

"Do not let the current pandemic conditions, efforts to create a new taskforce will be counterproductive," he concluded.