TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - It would have been much more difficult to uncover the collusion between politicians and officials at Musi Banyuasin, South Sumatra, if the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) did not have the authority to tap telephone calls. This tool is even more necessary at a time when the KPK is weakest.
Thanks to wiretaps, the politicians' moves in that region could be monitored, eventually leading to their arrest for accepting bribes. Evidence was easy to obtain because the transactions were carried out without using middlemen. Member of the Musi Banyuasin Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) Bambang Karyanto accepted a payment at his home on June 19. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician was accompanied by his colleague, Adam Munandar from the Gerindra Party.
Their other guests and alleged bribe takers were head of Musi Banyuasin Revenue, Financial Assets and Regional Assets Services Office, Syamsudin Fei and Fasyar, head of Musi Banyuasin Regional Development Planning Board. At the time of the arrests, the KPK seized Rp2.56 billion in Rp50,000 and Rp100,000 bills. KPK investigators believe this payment was linked to the passing of the 2015 Amended Regional Budget.
Similar bribes were paid in January. It will be difficult for the suspects to deny this because investigators have evidence in the form of wiretap recordings. Now the KPK is investigating the possible involvement of Musi Banyuasin Regent Pahri Azhari. It used the same methods to detain House of Representatives (DPR) member Adriansyah in Bali last April. The PDI-P politician was caught taking a bribe from a businessman in relation to a mining permit in Tanah Laut, South Kalimantan.
The authority to wiretap became even more important after the Constitutional Court added the declaration of suspect status to the list of grounds for pretrial hearings. Corruption suspects rushed to file suits against the KPK, and many of them won. Former chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), Hadi Poernomo was one beneficiary. Hadi won his legal challenge to his indictment as a suspect in the BCA tax case which took place when he was tax director-general.
This does not mean that suspects who are caught red-handed and arrested cannot file a challenge against the KPK. They can still take the case to a pretrial hearing. But the KPK will be in a much stronger position because of the strong evidence. Without such proof, it will be easier for suspects to question the legality of the arrests and of the arresting officer.
This is why the plan to revise the KPK Law including the removal of the wiretapping authority is a wrong move. Given the politicians and officials' brazenness in committing corruption, what would happen if the KPK were no longer able to tap their phone calls? Fortunately the plan was halted after President Joko Widodo rejected it. For sure, without this vital tool, the KPK would be paralyzed and unable to arrest suspects red-handed.
Having said that, the KPK needs to improve its wiretapping procedures and methods. The selection of targets for wiretapping must be based on clear criteria. Not all wiretaps, especially those having no links to corruption cases, should be allowed. The KPK must use its most potent remaining weapon carefully and against the right targets. (*)
