Civil Society Coalition Urges President To Directly Convey Follow-Ups On The Dismissal Of 56 KPK Employees

President Joko Widodo (Photo: Twitter @jokowi)

JAKARTA - The Anti-Corruption Civil Society Coalition urges President Joko Widodo to urge the President to directly deliver the follow-up action to the dismissal of 56 KPK employees. Furthermore, the Coalition reaffirmed the main demand for the President to ratify the status transfer of 56 KPK employees to become State Civil Apparatus at the KPK.

Previously, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo recruited dozens of anti-corruption agency employees who officially quit as of September 30. Some people think that Listyo's statement represents President Jokowi.

"We consider that instead of solving the problem, the steps of the National Police Chief who seem to represent President Joko Widodo can actually complicate the situation. Why not, Tuesday, September 28, 2021, the National Police Chief suddenly mentioned that 56 KPK employees who were deemed not to have passed the TWK would soon be sworn in as a state civil servant in the Police. Therefore, an important question arises, does the position of the National Police Chief represent the President's attitude?" that's their attitude from the release that was distributed among journalists, Thursday, September 30.

This coalition said that the legal resistance carried out by 56 KPK employees in various state institutions, ranging from the Ombudsman, Komnas HAM, the Constitutional Court, and the Supreme Court, had issued one conclusion, namely that TWK which was regulated through Commission Regulation Number 1 of 2021 was constitutionally valid. however, its implementation is fraught with a number of problems, including maladministration based on the findings of the Ombudsman and violating human rights as stated by Komnas HAM.

"All these findings basically boil down to the President's attitude. Therefore, whatever the President's decision should be conveyed directly, not delegated to another party, in this case the National Police Chief," he said.

The Civil Society Coalition statement continued, the government's plan to appoint 56 KPK employees to become ASN in the National Police also strengthens the signal that TWK is full of problems.

"The legal logic is that the government through the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs revealed that the legal basis for the appointment of 56 KPK employees is Article 3 paragraph (1) PP 17/2020. The regulation states that the President as the highest authority in the development of civil servants has the authority to determine the appointment of civil servants. The KPK said that 56 employees could not be appointed as ASN because they did not pass the TWK," the statement said.

In addition, on the basis of PP 17/2020, the President must reprimand and evaluate the KPK leadership for making noise and disturbing the public for their actions in organizing TWK. This is justified by law.

"Because, the President is the direct supervisor of the KPK based on the decision of the Constitutional Court and it is stated in the amendment to the KPK Law. Simply put, if the President appoints 56 ASN employees without being followed by an evaluation of the performance of the KPK leadership, then it is reasonable to suspect that the executive is also in the same position as Firli Bahuri. and other commissioners," the statement continued.

It should be noted that, as stated above, the Ombudsman and Komnas HAM have issued recommendations for their investigations regarding the implementation of the KPK TWK. The two state institutions established by the law have asked the President to inaugurate 56 KPK employees as ASN in the KPK.

"The next question is, has the President read and met with the Ombudsman and Komnas HAM before approving the idea from the National Police Chief regarding the continuation of the 56 KPK employees? Because if it is done, but not implemented, there will be legal consequences for the President."

Based on Article 38 paragraph (1) of the Ombudsman Law, it is clearly stated that the Reported Party (KPK Leader) and the Reported Party's superior (President) must implement the Ombudsman's recommendations. Therefore, the President's neglect of this matter shows that the government does not respect the performance of state institutions and is an act against the law.

"The statement from the National Police Chief regarding the plan to appoint 56 KPK employees to become ASN in the Police is important for us to observe together. Because there is no complete explanation of the concept. For example, the legal basis, placement, and the tasks they will carry out later in the police. This is important, because the 56 employees came from across the deputies while working at the KPK, starting from prosecution, prevention, and other parts," the statement said.

In addition, there should be no impression that the dozens of KPK employees seem to be positioned as job seekers. This is because the desire to become an ASN is not the intention of the individual, but the law's command. Moreover, their failure to qualify for the KPK TWK cannot be justified by law.

The President's attitude on the TWK issue can be described as that the government has never taken sides with the issue of strengthening anti-corruption institutions. As is well known, this kind of attitude is not the first time this has happened. Previously, in 2019, the President also agreed with the agenda for the revision of the KPK Law and contributed directly to producing very bad KPK leaders. In fact, the condition of eradicating corruption in Indonesia is increasingly worrying.

This can be captured from the findings of Transparency International when submitting the Corruption Perception Index which was increasingly falling in 2020. Not only that, the President is also insensitive in seeing the current shortcomings of the KPK.

"Just imagine, various ethical violations, decreased enforcement performance, and the declining image of the KPK in the community should be addressed by producing policies that support the existence of the KPK.

Not only ignoring the law's orders and the findings of state institutions, the President has also not fully listened to the aspirations that have been conveyed by the public regarding the KPK TWK. Over the past four months, a number of organizations and individual community leaders have voiced that the President should cancel the decision of the KPK leadership. Starting from dozens of professors, students, and civil society organizations have provided input on the potential for weakening the KPK behind TWK.

"This also reminds the public of the President's alignment with the issue of eradicating corruption, which is often only stated in political documents without any concrete realization," the statement said.