TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - What speakers and members of the Legal Commission of the House of Representatives (DPR) have done to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in a hearing session on Tuesday last week really could not be justified.
Forcing the KPK to unveil the recording on the questioning to Miryam S. Haryani, member of the DPR from the Hanura (People's Conscience) Fraction allegedly implicated in a graft case in the e-KTP project, was a form of intervention as well as a form of the misuse of power at a wrong place.
As chosen people who understand legal affairs in their fraction, speakers and members of the Legal Commission certainly know that the KPK, in line with Article 3 of Law Number 30 of 2002, in carrying out its duties and authority, is independent and free from influence of any power.
"Any power", according the explanation of the law, is power from the executive, the judicative, the legislative, and other parties related to corruption cases, or any condition, situation as well as reasons.
Forcing the KPK to disclose recording of questioning is akin to forcing to open the police investigation report (BAP) outside the court. This act is not justified according to the criminal procedure law. The BAP, which is confidential, may not be open to public because it is related to the investigation of the case. If that happened, investigators would find difficulties digging the facts because the process has been interfered and the investigation is prone to manipulation, for example when proof is erased or tampered.
The insistence of members of the DPR certainly raises a question: is this a form of solidarity among members of the DPR? Or is it a trick to save those who are allegedly implicated?
In the indictmen against Irman and Sugiharto, formers officials at the Home Affairs Ministry, it was said that at least 60 members of the DPR for the period of 2009-2014 received shares of money from the project, which brought Rp2.3 trillion in state financial losses.
Miryam confirmed the names written in the BAP but she took back her words when she testified. In the hearing, KPK investigator Novel Baswedan testified that Miryam admitted she was threatened by six DPR members and was forced not to admit distributing money.
Those five names mentioned by Miryam are chairman and members of the Legal Commission.
Novel's testimony is a fact whose validity will be tested in the hearing.
Threatening the KPK with the right of inquiry should not be done by the DPR, including also threatening to revise the Law on the KPK everytime the DPR is 'disturbed', just like when DPR Speaker Setya Novanto was reportedly implicated in indictment documents of the e-KTP graft case that was widely spread and the last one: the threat of sending a note of protest to the President when the KPK prevents Setya from going abroad.
Facing all those threats, the KPK must stand in carrying out the duties of eradicating corruption in this country.
The KPK must strive so that Miryam, who is under threats, can get protection from the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK).
Miryam should also speak up and become a justice collaborator to reveal the e-KTP major corruption case that implicated so many lawmakers, bureaucrats, officials of state-owned enterprises, and businessmen.
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