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Law revision criticized for its potentials to degrade KPK's power

Jakarta Post - October 7, 2015

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Jakarta – Antigraft watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has criticized several articles in the draft revision of Law No. 30/2002 on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), saying that the revised articles had the potential to degrade its power.

ICW's judicature monitoring and legal division member, Aradilla Caesar, said the KPK law revision would slowly kill the antigraft body.

"The revision of the 2002 KPK Law is a substantial attempt to kill the antigraft body in stages," he said as quoted by kompas.com in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Aradilla said the House had struck "a war drum" against Indonesia's corruption eradication efforts. He said the KPK had noted a number of articles of the KPK law draft revision that might lead to the weakening of KPK. One of them was Article 5, which limited the body's working period to only 12 years from the law taking effect.

"It seems that the House has misinterpreted KPK as an ad hoc institution. It also did not take into account a Constitutional Court [MK] decision, which asserts that KPK is an institution that is constitutionally important," said Aradilla.

He further said the draft revision had diminished the KPK's law enforcement authorities, as the body would no longer have either surveillance or prosecution authority.

The draft revision also stated that the KPK would have the authority to issue investigation termination warrants or SP3s, as the National Police and the Attorney General's Office do, he added. Currently, KPK does not have the authority to issue SP3s, as stipulated by the 2002 KPK Law.

"The draft revision also states that wiretapping or recordings cannot be conducted without the court's consent. This will complicate KPK operations, since it has to first deal with the court's bureaucratic system," said Aradilla.

In another article, the draft revision states that the KPK is only allowed to handle a corruption case that has inflicted state financial losses of at least Rp 50 billion (US$3.6 million).

The KPK is also not allowed to independently recruit employees, including investigators. The draft revision says that the KPK can recruit employees only from the National Police, the AGO and the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP).

"All of these will narrow the KPK's scope in eradicating corruption," said Aradilla. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/10/07/law-revision-criticized-its-potentials-degrade-kpk-s-power.html.