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Agus Rahardjo, KPK Chairman We are not the dream team

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12 January 2016 15:26 WIB

Chief of Corruption Eradication Commission, Agus Rahardjo. TEMPO/Eko Siswono Toyudho

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has a new captain: Agus Rahardjo. Together with his co-chairpersons-Basaria Panjaitan, Saut Situmorang, Alexander Marwata and Laode Muhammad Syarif-Agus, 59, was sworn in by President Joko Widodo on December 21, 2015, following his selection by the Law Committee of the House of Representatives (DPR). He got 44 votes, while Basaria got 9 votes and Saut one vote. 

The new KPK leaders inherited a pile of problems. Prominent among them are the charges against former KPK chairmen Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto and the criminalization of KPK investigator Novel Baswedan. Then there's the internal conflict between the staff and the acting chairman of the KPK, Taufiequrachman Ruki. Agus' burden will be further complicated by the DPR's campaign to revise the law on the KPK, a measure generally regarded as an attempt to weaken the antigraft organization. 

Before his current job, Agus was head of the Policy Institute for the Procurement of Government Goods and Services (LKPP). He is a pioneer of e-budgeting, initiated by Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, which led to the exposure of markups in the cost of the acquiring the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system. "Before that, the first to use it was (the city of) Surabaya," recalled Agus, who hails from Magetan, East Java.

Agus was interviewed at his home in Jatiasih, Bekasi, last week by Tempo reporters Tulus Wijanarko, Tito Sianipar and Linda Trianita. However, not all the questions were answered, particularly when it came to priorities and targets of the KPK for the next four years of his term in office. "We are still in the process of completing our strategic plan," said Agus. Discussions on the strategic plan will involve former KPK chairs and civil society leaders such as religious leaders Franz Magnis Suseno and Buya Syafii Maarif, as well as institutions like the Indonesia Corruption Watch and the KPK's own employees' association.

 

From the meetings you've had with those civil society leaders, what kind of conclusions did you reach? 

Their vision and mission differed, not consolidated. But there were many recommendations. But the the common thread among them seems to be (the need) for a balance between indictment and prevention.

What kind of balance?

God willing, indictments will not decline, but we noticed that there's been not much effort at prevention, and a serious lack of the public's wider participation. There was also much criticism of the previous regime, it seems, particularly regarding their integrity, although we realize the budget for prevention is far bigger that that of indictment. Our friends in the media also don't see this (prevention) issue as sexy. Yet, in the KPK law itself, the organization's five functions are clearly set: coordination, supervision, indictment, prevention and monitoring. Collaboration with other law enforcement agencies on coordination and supervision is in the law, but somehow it was never institutionalized.

Why is that?

Because those who drafted the laws were different people. Those who formed the organization was the justice and human rights ministry, but the part on indictment was put together by our anti-corruption activist friends. So, when those three aspects were combined, there was a missing link. That is basically why the KPK has no deputies in charge of coordination, supervision or monitoring. There is a monitoring director but he monitors indictments, yet the law clearly cites (the KPK) should monitor the government's policies, and provide suggestions for their improvement. But this was not carried out, so the KPK should be blamed for this. If the Riau governor was arrested three times in a row, that's clearly part of the indictment. But how to improve (the system) going forward? This has yet to be done.

Do you plan to initiate changes to the organization?

I will not change the organization drastically; that would only create an uproar. But one of the leaders must specifically monitor the coordination. This has not worked maximally yet because in the past, cases were pulled and pushed among the different law enforcers. The KPK would only handle the big fish, high-value cases that would attract wide public attention. (In the future), if a case is valuated at Rp10 billion and the impact is only on that particular operation alone (not the general public), let the police handle it.

On the other hand, our role is to monitor, in particular cases involving corruption. Coordinating and supervising them is also the task of the KPK. Yet the prosecutors and the police are institutions as old as the republic, while the KPK is only 12 years old. Understandably, they might feel we're overstepping their turf. I'm looking for a way so the coordination and supervision functions don't affect their pride. Perhaps through IT (information technology). We will provide the tools, the applications and the system, and they operate them. We just monitor it. It's to prevent cases from being abused.

So, you plan to apply the LKPP e-budgeting to the KPK? 

That's correct, and not just the coordination part. The public should also be urged to participate so that they get really involved, particularly on issues of government services. Take the example of hospitals, public health centers (puskesmas), one-window licensing and schools. Principals and teachers selling textbooks (for their personal profit) has so far been seen as business as usual, but it should not be. That should not happen in schools. Such things must be supervised and monitored by the public.

When (the plan) is completed, I will invite the director-generals of elementary and middle education, those who manage hospitals and I will provide them with the application. It only needs someone like myself to monitor (the program), and see whether something has been installed or not, how many additional schools were built, in which district or municipalities. We will create targets, because the KPK has more teeth than the LKKP.

The new KPK leaders have been saying that prevention should be prioritized, which has led to criticism because the assumption is that indictments will decline. 

The public also needs to be educated. Indictment does cause a lot of noise, but the act against the crime of corruption will not decline. The best reference is the CPI or corruption perception index. Just trying to move it from 32 to 34 is so difficult. I believe the CPI is more important, even though the public like it when we arrest people. But behind all that, we will carry out fundamental and structural improvements.

The new leadership structure of the KPK has also been publicly criticized, chiefly their anticorruption sentiments. 

If you look at the previous leaders, everything about them was criticized. Almost always, new leaders will face criticism, if not scrutiny. That's what happened to Pak Antasari Azhar and Abraham Samad. (People used to ask) who's Abraham? So, if were are not seen as the dream team, but rather as an underdog, that would be a blessing. It would be much easier to manage. When we do perform, hopefully the public will acknowledge it.

The public has reason to worry because one of the KPK leaders, Basaria Panjaitan, is a retired police general and the KPK has more than once been in conflict with the police. 

I'm sure that we will not do anything rash. I got my first protest through my cellphone. But I could not immediately intervene. I relayed it to the public complaints section and asked them to process it according to procedures.

The KPK lost a pretrial court case. How will you anticipate such moves in the future? 

We have agreed to ensure as much as possible that we not lose ever again. Indicting a suspect must be accompanied by strong evidence. The investigation must be credible. I heard that the reason we lost was because the substantive court case materials had already been filed.

You recently met with President Joko Widodo. What did you talk about?

After I was sworn in, I was called by Pak Jokowi. He stressed to me that he will never intervene. He said, "Don't let it happen again. The impact of uproars like the recent ones alway fall on me." So, we need to think in broader terms, more comprehensively. I can understand why the chief of state himself made that special request. That's the way I feel: the burden of time past should not happen again.

You say coordination with the prosecutors and the police will be increased. What happens when you find corruption in one of those two institutions? 

That question is unnecessary. Don't ever doubt the independence (of the KPK). We are able to select cases and organize public debate. Everything depends on the early evidence. If it's there and can disrupt the public widely, yes, it should be continued. (*)

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



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