Jakarta – A document, purportedly the result of the government's assessment of the eight candidates for the nation's antigraft leadership, seems to favour the House of Representatives selecting Bambang Widjojanto and Yunus Husein.
The House is scheduled to resume the selection process for the next Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders today, Nov. 28, after meeting with members of the government-sanctioned selection committee, which screened the candidates, over administrative glitches that halted the process.
Critics said the House was deliberately stalling the process as it refused to use the committee's ranking system in selecting the candidates, a policy apparently aimed at reducing political considerations during the House-selection stage. The committee, according to the document, ranked Bambang and Yunus as frontrunners since they had the cleanest track record, at least compared to the other contenders.
The document, obtained by The Jakarta Post on Saturday, noted that the only mark against Bambang was that he challenged a Supreme Court ruling on a land dispute involving Trisakti University. Bambang explained that he stood by his argument that Trisakti's assets belonged to the state and could not be seized as ordered by the court.
Yunus came in second as he has served as a member of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Judicial Mafia Taskforce. It was feared that his being a former taskforce member might reduce his independence as a KPK leader, but Yunus, according to the document, dismissed that possibility.
Candidate Abdullah Hehamahua is known to have been imprisoned from 1972 to 1973. The document does not specify the crimes for which he was jailed, but Abdullah in his defense argued that he was imprisoned without trial.
The rest of the candidates had more than one shortcoming. Aryanto Suryadi, for instance, once dismissed the policy obliging state officials to reveal their wealth during an interview with members of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW). "Wealth disclosure forms will only make someone a hypocrite, it is impossible for people to fill the form accurately, what's the point?" Aryanto, who has a police background, said.
During the same interview, Aryanto also stated that giving gratuities was a common practice, "I never blackmail or ask people [for gratuities], but if somebody gives them to me then I will accept."
This has concerned many observers, including Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmakers, who suggested that the candidate's controversial statements be followed up.
Another candidate, Zulkarnaen, who served as a prosecutor, is said to have issued several SP3 letters (to terminate investigations) including in the case of Lapindo. He denied the allegations. He was also the owner of four houses in four regions where he had been assigned. He confirmed this, but made clear that they were all "modest houses".
Abraham Samad, another candidate, allegedly participated in the declaration of the National Mandate Party's (PAN) in Makasar, South Sulawesi. He admitted his involvement, but said that he was not a member of the party, a supporter of Yudhoyono's coalition government.
A member of the selection committee Imam Prasojo said on Saturday that the committee's three-month work to select the candidates was based on four important criteria. "We insist on the criteria of leadership, integrity, capability and independence," Imam, a sociologist with the University of Indonesia, said.
He said that it was almost impossible to find a candidate who possessed all four qualities but some had consistently outclassed other candidates. According to the committee, Bambang Widjojanto topped the chart with a total of 450 points, followed by Yunus Husein with 423 points, Abdullah Hehamahua 410 points and Handoyo Sudrajat 401 points.
On Monday, the House will quiz two candidates then two more daily until Friday when they will vote for the best candidates. (rpt)