TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tempo English rounded up the top three news on Friday, January 26, 2024. Here are the highlights: KPK Head: Conflict of Interest During 2024 General Elections is Corruption, Indonesian Minister Luhut Says High Nickel Prices Could Harm Economy, and The Toxic Environment of the KPK Detention Center.

The following is the list of the top 3 news on Tempo English today:

1. KPK Head: Conflict of Interest During 2024 General Elections is Corruption

The interim chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission or KPK Nawawi Pomolango said conflict of interest is not a mere seed of a corrupt act, but corruption itself.

Nawawi relayed the statement in response to the mind-numbing amount of political activities conducted by state officials ahead of the 2024 general elections, including Indonesia's president Jokowi Widodo or Jokowi. Recently, social assistance has been used as a campaign prop. "What is clear and seen often now is several state officials conducting activities in the scope of general elections," he said in a written statement on Thursday, Jan. 25.

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2. Indonesian Minister Luhut Says High Nickel Prices Could Harm Economy

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, expressed concern over the nickel prices. He assessed that if nickel prices rise too high, it will be very detrimental to the economy.

“Too high nickel prices are very dangerous. We learned from the cobalt case three years ago when the price was so high and people ended up looking for other forms of batteries. This is one of the triggers for the emergence of lithium ferro phosphate (LFP),” Luhut said in a video posted on his Instagram account @luhut.pandjaitan, as quoted on Thursday, January 25.

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3. The Toxic Environment of the KPK Detention Center

The rampant collection of illegal levies behind the walls of the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) detention center can no longer be covered up. The smell was already overpowering, like something fishy in a fish market. Because “fish rots from the head,” it will be insufficient to clean up the KPK’s working environment only among low-level employees.

The KPK Supervisory Board recently tried 15 out of 93 KPK employees who were suspected of being involved in extortion practices from December 2021 to March 2022. This extortion was uncovered after the Supervisory Board received complaints from detainees and families who were victims.

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