TEMPO.CO, Medan - Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Agus Rahardjo, said that the agency’s commissioners and employees are in favor of a strong KPK.
“Everyone collectively refuses a revision on the KPK Law,” said Agus on Friday, April 7, 2017.
Based on the revised KPK Law draft by the House of Representatives, the anti-graft agency would function as an agency to prevent the act of corruption rather than an agency to prosecute the act of corruption. The draft also states that KPK can only handle corruption cases with a Rp 50billion loss at its minimum.
Also, KPK’s authority to wiretap corruption suspects can only be obtained through the approval of a district court chairman. “KPK is also insisted as an ad hoc agency,” Agus said. He mentioned Law No. 30/2012 on the Corruption Eradication Commission which does not describe the KPK as an ad hoc agency.
Agus is also perplexed by why the KPK is always being picked on. “KPK only wants to improve Indonesia’s corruption perceptions index. The KPK Law may be revised after it’s improved,” he said.
He compared Indonesia’s corruption eradication efforts to Hong Kong’s. “Hong Kong’s KPK has 1,600 investigators, meanwhile, Indonesia only has 93 investigators. Compared to its total 250 million population, KPK should be strengthened and not weakened,” said the KPK chairman.
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