TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo is evidently unfamiliar with an old saying, that one wrong step can become the source of a massive mistake. Perhaps that's why he might be unaware that his misjudgement on the replacement of Police Chief Gen. Sutarman has now led to a truly worrying situation.

It all began with the sole nomination of Police Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as the new police chief which was submitted to the House of Representatives (DPR) for the prerequisite fit-and-proper test. The problem emerged when President Jokowi's submission to the DPR took place at the same time the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) indicted Budi Gunawan for corruption.

Magically, the due diligence on Budi Gunawan at the DPR went through lightning-fast, both at the legal commission as well as at the plenary session. In less than one week the DPR had approved the nomination of Budi Gunawan as national police chief. During the nomination of Gen. Sutarman as police chief in 2013, the DPR took 20 days to make up its mind. In the history of the DPR, this is the first time that it had approved the nomination of a candidate indicted for a crime.

It was at this point that President Jokowi faced his heaviest challenge yet as a statesman. Those opposed to Budi Gunawan's nomination would like to see the president succeed in his commitment to eradicate corruption. Those who support Budi Gunawan, specifically the group opposing Jokowi during the presidential election, would like to see the president proven to be unqualified to govern.

In the end, President Jokowi took 'the middle road' by delaying Budi Gunawan's installation, meanwhile appointing Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti as 'acting police chief'. The next day, Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto clarified that Badrodin was not the acting police chief but the deputy police chief authorized to carry out the duties of the police chief. It was from this point that a series of bungling incidents followed.

Badrodin's appointment immediately set off a chain of events within the police force. The chief of the crime investigation division was immediately replaced by someone with a dubious background. While this was going on, the name Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno, coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, was cited in a number of statements, particularly his negative reference to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) not being a god.

Somehow, that particular reference to the KPK triggered a kind of 'polarization' and 'institutionalization' with the KPK and the police as the conflicting parties. After his appointment or 'non-appointment', Badrodin Haiti gathered eight former police chiefs at his headquarters. Through this 'mobilization', Badrodin who was also cited in the list of police generals with suspicious bank accounts currently being investigated by the KPK said that Budi Gunawan would still remain in his current position as head of the Police Training Institute. This situation differed with the case involving the former Traffic Division chief, Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo in 2012, whose decision to withdraw from his position as governor of the Police Academy was 'unopposed'.

Although the police has repeatedly denied it, it is difficult not to recall the 'lizard versus crocodile' conflict, when the KPK faced Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji then the head of the police crime investigation division in 2009. The only difference between the two is in their dimension and magnitude. This time, the 'crocodile' is not alone. He is backed if not actually pushed by a major political force represented by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

The appearance of PDI-P's acting secretary-general, Hasto Kristiyanto with charges of KPK Chairman Abraham Samad 'playing politics' cannot be disassociated from this conflict arising out of the appointment of Budi Gunawan, who was once an aide to Megawati Soekarnoputri when she was president from 2001 to 2004. As acting party secretary-general, Hasto is unlikely to have taken his own initiative in making such statements, without the knowledge or direction of his party's leadership. It is also difficult to omit the chronology of the reason behind the arrest of KPK Deputy Chairman Bambang Widjojanto the following day, by the police crime investigation division.

This time, the president cannot keep his distance. He must take a resolute stand: to enforce the law and justice. The Budi Gunawan case cannot be used to 'institutionalize' a dispute between the KPK and the police, particularly when it can turn into a political conflict. The case of the 'lizard versus crocodile' cannot be allowed to recur, specifically since it now involves the 'bull' party, which lately seems to act more like a 'raging bull'. (*)

Read the full story in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine