Jokowi Urged to Intervene in TWK Uproar; Mahfud Md Refuses to Comment

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud Md was reluctant to comment on requests voiced by a number of parties for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to intervene in the polemic of the civic knowledge test (TWK) of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). 

“Let it be responded to by the President later,” said Mahfud at the National Police Criminal Investigation Unit Building, South Jakarta, Thursday, September 16.

Meanwhile, the President stated that the authority to answer the TWK issue is the supervisory officials, which in this case is the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform.

“This is a constitutional courtesy. I have to respect the ongoing legal process,” Jokowi said on Wednesday, September 15.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Kurnia Ramadhana had asked the President to schedule a meeting with the Ombudsman and Komnas HAM (National Commission on Human Rights). “ICW is worried that other groups will sneak in and give the President wrong information regarding the KPK issue,” Kurnia said in his statement today.

According to Kurnia, there were a number of serious consequences if Jokowi continued to regard TWK as a matter of employment administration only and returned full authority to the KPK. Mahfud Md also stopped short of making comments on ICW’s statement.

Read: Jokowi's Spokesman on 57 KPK Employee's Dismissal: KPK's Authority

ANDITA RAHMA | FRISKI RIANA