Jakarta – More than 60 people have officially expressed interest in leading the country's antigraft commission, many of whom are surprisingly lawyers, including some who have defended alleged corrupters.
As of Thursday, the special committee tasked with selecting the chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had received applications from at least 63 aspiring candidates.
"In terms of profession, the applicants are dominated by lawyers," committee secretary Achmad Ubbe told The Jakarta Post on Friday, adding that scholars came in second, followed by NGO activists, police officers and bankers.
Danang Widoyoko of the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said he was concerned about the trend. "Some of those lawyers might just want secure their business interests," he said.
Among the lawyers who applied for the top post at the KPK are Farhat Abbas, now a lawyer for graft suspect Muhtadi Asnun, who acquitted tax officer Gayus Tambunan from corruption charges; and OC Kaligis, a lawyer for Anggodo Widjojo and a number of graft convicts, including Artalyta Suryani, an alleged case broker.
Another lawyer applying for the post is Alamsyah Hanafiah, who defended former state power firm PT PLN official Hariadi Sadono, a suspect in a Rp 80 billion (US$864,000) graft case.
Danang said the reason why lawyers dominated the selection process was they met the criteria of having a good understanding of law and having at least 15 years experience in law.
"No one can rule out anyone from registering if he or she meets the requirements," KPK deputy chairman M. Jasin told the Post when asked about the issue. He cited the 2002 KPK Law, which stipulates any eligible Indonesia citizen may apply.
Danang said he was upbeat the selection committee would select candidates with integrity and clean track records.
"The administrative selection process, including a writing test, is only an early stage of the whole selection process," Danang said. He added that, "Interviews to screen candidates, as well as input from the community to check and evaluate their backgrounds and track records, will counter the problem."
Jasin explained the tight selection process would minimize the possibility of selecting the wrong person. "The quality of the selection process is very important," he said, adding he would gather information on the candidates' background from independent sources.
A member of the committee Erry Riyana, who was a KPK executive for 2003-2007, said it was not wise to comment on this matter since it was only the third day of total 21 days of registration.
"We should wait. From my experience, people usually flood the registration during the last three days before it closed," Erry said.
As of today, only five applicants had submitted complete documents, while the others will submit complete applications on Monday.
Those who have completed their documents are former police official Insp. Gen. Budi Setiawan, banker Hertanto Cahyo Suryo, International Theological Seminary lecturer Harvest Stevanus Wiji Suratno and former economy director for the National Police detective agency Brig. Gen. Weni Warouw.
Erry added the committee had already been scouting people to search for reliable candidates. "It's like direct selling, we approach figures who meet the requirements and have integrity," he said. (ipa)