Jakarta – Anticorruption activists are throwing their support behind Bambang Widjojanto and Busyro Muqoddas as nominees for a key post at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), saying both were worthy candidates.
The selection committee proposed Bambang and Busyro to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Friday. Once legislators take their pick, they will then choose one of the KPK's five deputy leaders to be chairperson, a position left vacant by Antasari Azhar after his conviction in a murder case in February.
Adnan Topan Husodo of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said Saturday that both candidates were the best picks made by the selection committee.
"The integrity and achievements of both nominees are beyond doubt," he said. "They have extensive experience in the field of corruption eradication."
He added that regardless of their different backgrounds, both nominees would be able to boost the KPK's internal dynamism, which has considerably been weakened by criminal allegations against KPK deputy chairmen Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah.
Bambang, 51, is a long-time anticorruption activist who now lectures at Trisakti University and is the KPK's legal adviser. Busyro, 58, lectures at the Indonesian Islamic University in Yogyakarta and is the incumbent chairman of the Judicial Commission.
Adnan added that the appointment of a new chief would simply be to fulfill administrative requirements and would not alter the degree of authority shared among the chairman and his four deputies. "It does not matter who gets appointed chairman," he said, adding that based on the 2002 KPK Law, the House of Representatives had the prerogative to appoint the chairman.
"The House, however, cannot turn down a candidate nominated by the selection committee," he added. "The law does not permit them to do that."
Legislator Gayus Lumbuun, however, said the House had the constitutional right to reject candidates if there was evidence of a criminal past or serious misconduct. Adnan called the statement a ploy by legislators who feared that a strong KPK would threaten corrupt political parties.
Article 30 of the KPK law states that the House is obliged to pick five candidates, one of whom would be appointed chairperson.
"This is a move to protect themselves and their interests," Adnan said of Gayus' statement, adding that the ploy could misfire if legislators failed to substantiate their refusal.
"The strong resistance from legislators is suicide on their part as it indicates to the public, who have shown strong support for the candidates, that they have something to hide," he added.
Indonesia Budget Center (IBC) activist Roy Salam told The Jakarta Post that another concern was the ability of legislators to pick without bias.
"Bambang's level of acceptance in the House is not as strong because he is not from a government institution. Also, he has been critical of the government all along," he said. "These facts can affect the legislators' views."
Busyro is a more likely choice since he and the legislators had established relations during Busyro's tenure at the Judicial Commission, Roy said.
"Bambang lacks this rapport, which is worrisome," he said, adding that if legislators truly supported corruption eradication, they would consider both candidates equally.
Roy said both candidates were equally qualified because both possessed integrity and had never been implicated in criminal cases. Busyro consistently made the effort to combat case brokers while in the Judicial Commission, but could still compromise, he said.
He added that Bambang had shown an unstoppable drive to eradicate corruption throughout his career as a lawyer by not representing clients implicated in graft cases.
"He has been able to form networks with, and is well received by, various stakeholders, from the general public to law enforcement officials," Roy said. (gzl)