TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The selection of prospective leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is extremely important. The wrong choice would render this anti-graft commission totally powerless-a condition that began to be felt after some of its officers were criminalized again and again. The selection committee must not only find leaders who are clean but also filled with integrity and a conscience.

Of the 19 names that have been pre-selected, not many of them are able to meet those requirements. Yet, the eight final names must be submitted to President Joko Widodo soon. The next step would be for the President to deliver them to the House of Represenatives (DPR) for a fit-and-proper test. They will be examined by former KPK officers, Busyro Muqoddas and Robby Arya Brata, and await the final selection of five among them to fill the vacant seats of the KPK executive board.

The selection process by the committee has been very open. Candidates such as Insp. Gen. (ret) Yotje Mende, Maj. Gen. (ret) Hendardji Soepandji and Saut Situmorang (an expert staff at the State Intelligence Agency-BIN), were scrutinized for their questionable assets. Yotje, who was once the Papua police chief, was spotlighted because of his many financial transactions, as evident in his 2013 bank account.

Hendardji, who owns Rp32.2 billion worth of assets, was also showered with questions. He was once Assistant for Security to the Army Chief of Staff and CEO of the Kemayoran Complex Management Center. Saut Situmorang, who has applied for the job as chairman of the KPK three times, was asked about his luxury car and his company, Indonesia Cipta Investama.

The courage of the election committee in delving into those suspicious items is commendable. But their work can be deemed effective only when they are able to finally select qualified and clean people. Perhaps a number of people currently assigned to the KPK should be considered, as recommended by former KPK chairman, Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean. Those names include Johan Budi SP (KPK vice chairman), Giri Suprapdiono (Director in charge of Gratification), Chesna Fizetty Anwar (former director of Internal Oversight) and Sujanarko (Director for Institutional and Inter-Commission Cooperation in charge of networking).

The committe must not believe all the information the police has provided on candidates it regards as problematic, but ask for further clarification. Conversely, the police cannot play the 'threat game' by saying they will hold the committee accountable when their recommendations are ignored. Any problem or issue involving the candidates must be explained in full. No candidate should fail to be selected just because of made-up mistakes.

It is not right to block a certain candidate's prospects with unclear charges, either during the current selection process or later at the DPR. Such methods will remind the public of the recent efforts to criminalize the KPK leaders. This is now the time to re-arm this anti-graft commission. Corruption remains pervasive and the law provides the commission with a huge authority to combat corruption, including the supervision of other law enforcement agencies.

This exceptional authority can only be executed if the KPK is led by people who are clean, have integrity and a conscience, and not by weak and problematic persons. (*)