Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will be stripped of all investigative powers under a plan being considered by the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs.

"It's an option to be included in the deliberation of a bill on the KPK. We want the bill to stipulate that the KPK focus only on corruption prevention, while the police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) will go further on law enforcement," Commission III chief and Democratic Party member Benny K. Harman said on Wednesday. "Therefore, we will also revise both laws on the Attorney General and the police."

Benny said that the KPK currently had too many responsibilities for the anti-graft body to be able to prevent corruption. "It's undeniable that the KPK has successfully imprisoned a number of corruptors, but it has failed to prevent an increase of corrupt acts," he added.

Legislators from Commission III are scheduled to visit several countries, including France and China, to study their anti-graft bodies.

Separately, KPK chief Abraham Samad told reporters that the revision of the bill on the KPK was unnecessary. "The law we have now is not ideal, but I think it's enough to give us the authority to fulfill our responsibility," he said on the sidelines of a meeting with the House's monitoring team in the Bank Century bailout case.

Abraham refused to answer other questions, including whether or not the plan to revise the bill is an attempt to protect lawmakers accused of corruption. (swd)