Reek of Politics in KPK Leaders' Term Extension
Translator
Editor
20 June 2023 21:35 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In November last year, the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) Deputy Chair Nurul Ghufron filed a request for judicial review of the Article 29 sub-paragraph e and Article 34 of the KPK Law to the Constitutional Court.
He argued that the first article stipulating that a prospective KPK leader must at least be 50 years old was a breach of the candidate’s constitutional rights. He also petitioned for a review of the second article that restricted the term of the KPK leaders to only four years.
And the Constitutional Court granted all of Ghufron’s petitions. In a hearing held on May 25, the judge changed the Article 29 sub-paragraph e to “at least 50 years old or possesses prior experience as a KPK leader.” The change will enable Ghufron to run again for the next period. The court also agreed to extend the leaders’ term of office from four years to five years.
The court’s ruling eventually landed the judge in a controversy. He was seen as overstepping his authority when he added a provision which is the jurisdiction of the legislative body, the House of Representatives (DPR). The verdict also ignored the fact that the KPK was no longer independent as under the law it was now part of the government’s executive branch.
“The four-year term has an ‘institutionalized’ moral message: don’t stay too long,” Busyro Muqoddas, KPK Chief for the period 2010-2011, told Tempo on June 7.
Various events that the KPK had been mired in contributed to the fall in Indonesia’s position from 38 in 2021 to 34 in 2022 on Corruption Perception Index (IPK) released by Transparency International. In terms of public trust, the survey result by Indikator Politik Indonesia puts the KPK at the 6th place as a trusted institution after the Indonesian Military (TNI), the president, the National Police, and the Attorney-General’s Office. Nurul Ghufron was aware that his petitions would be accused of being politically oriented since the term of the new KPK leaders would end after the 2024 general elections. Many see the probe into the alleged corruption by Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo as an attempt to crush the National Democrat (NasDem) Party that does not see eye to eye with the government on presidential candidates. “My perspective is to equate or equalize rights,” Ghufron told Tempo on May 30.
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KPK Deputy Chair, Nurul Ghufron:
KPK’s Independence Remains Unchanged
What is the reason behind your petition for the judicial review of the KPK Law?
A judicial review is a facility or a right given by the Constitution to every citizen. I feel my constitutional right was undermined when I was called immature to run for the chairman position. That’s why I submitted a judicial review request of Article 29 sub-paragraph e. Article 34 is about the four-year term (for the leaders). It’s inconsistent. The laws, regional regulations, and laws regarding other complementary state institutions, for example, the Judicial Commission, Ombudsman, National Commission on Human Rights, General Elections Commission, Election Supervisory Commission, and around 12 non-ministerial state institutions stipulate the same length of tenure: five years.
Is this a personal or an institutional initiative?
When I informed the other leaders, some gave the green light or gave a nod but I didn’t require their approval.
Do you want to serve longer?
People may perceive it that way. But my perspective is to equalize or equate rights. Equality of rights. If the standard is five years and the KPK applies six or seven years, maybe I will ask for a reduced term instead.
