With the House of Representatives' legal affairs commission approving in acclamation Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as the Indonesian police chief on Wednesday, his confirmation by a House plenary session today to decide whether he is fit to lead one of the country's most powerful institutions should be a mere formality.

With their approval, the legislators showed full contempt for the decision on Tuesday by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to name Budi a graft suspect.

The KPK has jailed many legislators, and many of their ilk want to take revenge. They are also afraid that they will join in the growing list of jailed public officials sooner rather than later. So this is their way of sticking it to the KPK.

The legislators will tell President Joko Widodo to immediately inaugurate Budi. That leaves the ball in Joko's court. He was the one who nominated Budi, and he should be the one who ends this farce.

But on Wednesday, rather than directly rescind the nomination, Joko delayed making a decision, saying he would wait for the outcome of the House's plenary session. If he inaugurates Budi, he will be helping the corrupt fight back, and Indonesia will be plunged into an endless war between the police and KPK.

Indonesia will become the first nation on Earth to have a graft suspect as its police chief. Even the notoriously indecisive Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made sure that no minister or top official stayed in office long once they were charged by the KPK.

If Budi becomes the police chief, he will have tremendous power, more so than even the KPK. He will fight to the end and there will be little that we can do about it. It will be tragedy for Indonesia – and it will all be because of Joko's blunder.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/opinion/editorial-nomination-problem-jokowis/