TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD said that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ordered him to further strengthen the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Mahfud added that the President expected the anti-graft body to reveal major corruption cases as well.

"The President wants bolder attempts of eradication of corruption in the future," said Mahfud during a dialogue with community figures, in his office, on Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta, Monday night, November 11.

Mahfud said that as a form of strengthening the law, Jokowi demanded reinforcement in various institutions ranging from the Attorney General's Office to the Police, including KPK. According to him, Jokowi wanted the anti-graft body to be more ferocious in the future in exposing major corruption cases.

The former Constitutional Court chief justice even recalled that Jokowi had reported an alleged corruption case to the KPK, yet it remained unsolved.

However, he stopped short of elaborating on the alleged corruption cases and classified them as major issues. "We have reported this case, but it has not been followed up to date. Of course, we may have different opinions about it," Mahfud added.

Mahfud conveyed the statement before national figures who were also urging President Jokowi to issue a regulation in lieu of law on KPK. At that time, he had not served as a Coordinating Minister yet.

Nearly one month after taking the office, Mahfud MD re-invited the figures from the civil society coalition to discuss his and the government’s commitment to combating corruption. They were Goenawan Muhammad, Frans Magnis Suseno, Bivitri Susanti, and Emil Salim.

EGI ADYATAMA