Indonesia Corruption Watch has asked the Corruption Eradication Commission to refuse to attend any hearings at the House of Representatives without the presence of its deputies, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah.

"The KPK must reject any House hearings without Bibit and Chandra. The KPK must be firm," The group's legal affairs coordinator, Febri Diansyah, told Antara.

In what appeared to be retaliation for last week's the arrest of one serving and 18 former legislators by the antigraft agency known as the KPK, lawmakers on Monday barred Bibit and Chandra from a hearing at House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs.

They argued that Bibit and Chandra were still legally "suspects" in a corruption case that has been suspended by the attorney general and they could not be let into a House hearing.

Febri said the argument was "funny" because the Attorney General's Office last week officially halted the long-running case against the pair, using the old Dutch legal principle of deponering to drop the case in the public interest.

"If there is no case, it means there is no suspect," Febri said, adding that the KPK also has the public on its side. "The people will support the KPK," Febri said.

ICW sees the move as a backlash following the detention of 19 politicians on charges relating to alleged bribery in the election of Miranda Goeltom as Bank Indonesia's senior deputy governor.

"It is reasonable for us to question whether the members of the House of Representatives are defending corruptors," Febri said.