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Activists say canceling Budi's nomination too little too late
Jakarta Globe - February 18, 2015
During a televised press conference on Wednesday, Joko said he would drop Budi to maintain peace and order following public discontent over his nomination. Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, the acting National Police chief, has been nominated for the role instead.
While the decision was not a surprise, says Haris Azhar, a coordinator at human rights group Kontras, it is not enough to deescalate the tension between the the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, and police.
"What's the use of appointing a new police chief if he [Joko] doesn't stop the criminalization of KPK leaders," Haris told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.
KPK chief Abraham Samad and deputy chief Bambang Widjojanto have been named suspects for allegedly falsifying state documents and committing perjury, respectively. Deputies Adnan Pandu Praja and Zulkarnain have also recently been named in historic legal cases by the National Police.
Haris said ideally Joko should have canceled Budi's nomination, appointed a new police chief and ordered him to review or even drop the investigation into the under-fire KPK commissioners.
Joko's indecisiveness on whether or not to inaugurate Budi, who was named a graft suspect last month, has been criticized widely and blamed for worsening the bitter feud between anti-graft agency and police over the past few weeks.
Joko also announced on Wednesday he would issue a presidential decree temporarily suspending Abraham and Bambang due to the criminal cases brought against them.
The president has appointed former KPK chief Taufiequrachman Ruki, legal professor Indrianto Seno Adji, and KPK deputy for corruption prevention, Johan Budi, to step in and lead the corruption watchdog.
Haris said the cases against the KPK leaders are politicized and replacing Abraham and Bambang would only throw the organization a life-line. "If he keeps on going this way Jokowi will disrupt the rule of law," Haris said.
Zainal Arifin Muchtar, the director of Gadjah Mada University's Center for Corruption Studies, or Pukat UGM, said Joko's decision to replace Budi with Badrodin should be appreciated – but it was not enough.
The president should have done more to protect the KPK from efforts to hobble it, Zainal said. "There should be protection for the temporary deputies because I'm afraid they will be targeted again," the academic said.
The National Police's chief detective, Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso, recently said more than 20 KPK investigators might be implicated in legal cases for the illegal possession of firearms.
"Stop criminalizing KPK leaders and investigators because if they are all dragged into legal cases, KPK's work will be disrupted," Zainal said.
Johan Budi, one of the temporary substitutes for the KPK leadership, has been reported to police by a civil society group, which has claimed he violated the organization's code of conduct when he met with politicians – including graft convict Muhammad Nazaruddin – in 2007.
The allegation has been dismissed by the KPK ethics committee and Johan has stated repeatedly that he was only at the meeting to accompany former KPK deputy Chandra Hamzah.
Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/activists-say-canceling-budis-nomination-little-late/.
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