Markus Junianto Sihaloho – There is a growing feeling among some activists and politicians that members of the antigraft body are spending too much time mingling with lawmakers, threatening the body's image and its investigations.
With so many lawmakers ending up the targets of investigations by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), it raises questions about the relationship between the graft fighters and the politicians when they meet outside of official House sessions.
Ray Rangkuti, director of the Indonesian Civic Network (Lima), said the commission should have learned from two of its former deputy commissioners – Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto. They ended up in court in part because of meetings they had with people linked to a case they were handling.
"We urge that KPK meetings outside of those of the official forum at the House of Representatives be limited," he said. "It should be understood that the KPK is in a position where they cannot just do whatever they want."
He said the commission should incorporate a regulation for this in its code of ethics. The Law on the KPK already says commissioners should not meet privately with anyone linked to a case they're working on.
Syarifuddin Sudding, a member of House Commission III for legal affairs, said he was puzzled by the number of recent visits politicians have made to the KPK. He said he thought these visits were probably an attempt by the politicians to intervene in the commission's investigations.
One such visit he mentioned took place on Jan. 20. House Speaker Marzuki Alie and the House's secretary general, Nining Indra Saleh, who have been criticized for wasteful spending on projects at the House building, went to the KPK office in South Jakarta.
Last Friday, he said, a number of his colleagues on House Commission III went to the KPK. These included Bambang Soesatyo of the Golkar Party, Trimedia Panjaitan of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Nasir Jamil of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and Ahmad Yani of the United Development Party (PPP). Several members of these parties, he said, are currently being targeted by the KPK.
Syarifuddin also said the KPK was dragging its feet on several cases that concerned the suspected involvement of lawmakers.
Abdullah Dahlan, a researcher from Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), said the KPK needed to keep its distance from politicians and lawmakers. "The KPK should prioritize professionalism, and should not give in to pressure or work for any political interests," he said.
The public, he added, would be disappointed if the KPK did not continue its investigations into corruption cases involving suspected lawmakers.
Bahruddin Nasori, a House Commission III member from the National Awakening Party (PKB), said to allay any suspicions of improper intervention, lawmakers should only communicate with KPK commissioners through official forums, such as working meetings or hearings.
"If there is anything they want to say, then it should be expressed in official forums only," he said. "It is true that political parties, through their representatives at the House, chose the KPK members, but this does not mean we can co-opt the KPK. We all need to protect the KPK as part of our battle against corruption."
Nurkholis Hidayat, director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), said politicians should always be suspected and their visits to the KPK should accordingly be viewed with suspicion.
Haryono Umar, another former KPK commissioner, and Chandra last year had an ethics council hearing over meetings they had with politicians during their time at the antigraft body.
Although the disbanded committee said Chandra and Haryono had not violated the KPK's code of conduct, three committee members, including chairman Abdullah Hehamahua, recommended they be sanctioned.
Hehamahua said when Chandra and Haryono met with Democratic lawmakers Muhammad Nazaruddin and Benny K. Harman, the two KPK deputies were aware of the potential conflict of interest, given that Nazaruddin and Benny were both members of the House's legal affairs commission, which has oversight of the antigraft body.
"When talking about a code of conduct, we are talking about whether an act is proper or not, reasonable or not, and not about right or wrong," he said in October after the ethics committee issued its ruling. "When [KPK officials] meet someone, they must alert other officials before or after the meeting. This meeting was planned, not accidental."