Bagus BT Saragih – Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Busyro Muqoddas is facing backlash for sharp remarks directed at lawmakers over the last few months, which may make it harder for the former Judicial Commission chairman to retain his job when he faces re-election at the House next month.
Some lawmakers irked by Busyro's statements have responded with criticism, saying they would likely not reappoint Busyro to lead the KPK due to his controversial comments.
"We won't pick Busyro again. Our party will choose Bambang Widjojanto," Desmond Mahesa, a Greater Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party lawmaker on House's Commission I overseeing legal affairs, said on Wednesday. "His controversial remarks are a symbol of his tendency to be emotional lately," Desmond said.
Bambang, a lawyer and antigraft activist, along with seven other candidates, have been facing 'fit-and-proper' tests before Commission I as part of the process to select the KPK's next leaders.
Only four of the KPK's incumbent senior leaders are slated for replacement in December, after a Constitutional Court ruling cleared the way for Busyro to continue as one of the KPK's five leaders.
Busyro was installed as KPK chairman in November 2010 to replace Antasari Azhar, who was convicted of murder. His late entry to KPK makes him last to be replaced, despite four other KPK leaders who will end their term next month.
Busyro, however, will not necessarily remain KPK chairman, as the 2002 KPK Law stipulates that the House can elect a chairman from the KPK's five senior leaders: Busyro and the four successful candidates.
Under current rules, the House can select new chairman from the five leaders immediately after they are named.
House Commission I chairman Benny Kabur Harman, a lawmaker from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, said it was not appropriate for Busyro to offer extensive criticism when his main duty was to enforce the law. "But I don't think the controversies will affect the upcoming election."
Lawmaker Ruhut Sitompul, also from the Democratic Party, however, claimed that many legislators who backed Busyro as KPK chairman last year had since lost sympathy for the antigraft czar.
Meanwhile, lawmaker Nasir Djamil of the Prosperous and Justice Party (PKS) disagreed with his colleagues, saying that Busyro still had a chance to hold on to his job. Desmond said that Busyro might have been playing politics. "Busyro might realize that he has lost a lot of the political support he needs to keep his position. His latest remarks may have been aimed at influencing public opinion if he is not re-elected," he said.
In his speech at the Jakarta Cultural Center last week, Busyro criticized the extravagant lifestyles of lawmakers and officials as a sign of moral decadence and rampant corruption.