Bambang Widjojanto Expresses Concerns Related to KPK Law Revision

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Former Commissioner of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Bambang Widjojanto criticized the government and House of Representative's plan to revise the KPK Law. Bambang specifically underlined an issue related to the establishment of the KPK supervisory council. "If it is true, [KPK] will no longer be independent," Bambang said on Monday, February 8, 2016.

Bambang added that the presence of a supervisory council will intervene with KPK's authority. Bambang explained that during his time as a commissioner, one of the suggestions made for KPK was to establish an ethics council to monitor the commission’s employee's ethics, not a supervisory council.

Bambang also compared several supervisory councils in other law enforcement agencies, such as the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) at the National Police, and the Prosecutor Commission at the Attorney General Office, which according to Bambang were not tasked with supervising the respective institutions. "Kompolnas' duty is to provide candidates for the Chief of National Police position, not to monitor what the National Police is doing," Bambang said.

Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, a researcher from the Indonesian Science Agency (LIPI), said that revisions on the KPK Law will potentially destroy the KPK. Some of the threatening revisions, according to Ikrar, including the 12 years limitation of KPK’s office term, which will be counted starting from when the commission was first established. Other threatening revisions include the removal of KPK's authority to prosecute corruption suspect, and the mandatory approval for wiretapping from the Chief of Court. "[The revisions] will weaken the KPK into a preventive action institution," Ikrar explained.

Ikrar also shared similar concern to Bambang regarding the establishment of a supervisory council. Ikrar claimed that the council's presence will make the KPK no longer independent.

DIKO OKTARA