Crowds gathered on Thursday at the offices of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to demand a thorough investigation into suspicious bank accounts belonging to high-ranking police officers, including the sole candidate for the position of National Police chief, Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan.
The protest followed remarks from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo who said on Wednesday that the legal process should be respected – referring to the KPK's announcement that Budi had been named a suspect, despite questions over its timing – but that the political process should also be taken into account, referring to the endorsement of Budi's candidacy by the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs earlier on Wednesday.
The demonstration, then, was in support of the respected anticorruption body, as the suspicions of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) regarding Budi's bank accounts and those of his family – with funds reaching up to Rp 100 billion – remain unanswered.
But citing presumption of innocence, the House commission went ahead with Budi's confirmation hearing and the entire House almost appeared united, in Thursday's plenary, in its support for the police general and its dismissal of the KPK's announcement.
The President's statement was a shock to many and protesters included volunteers from Jokowi's presidential campaign who created the campaign jingle Salam Dua Jari (Two-Finger Salute, referring to Jokowi's candidate number), made posters and organized large-scale concerts.
The President should not go ahead with the installment of Budi as the new police chief. His explanations cannot dampen the intense sense of betrayal of the public trust that led to his victory.
The debacle, it is feared, will prove a turning point in the President's support. Disenchantment has been mounting with his policies, such as the nomination to key positions of persons with unclear track records but with clearly close ties to his political allies.
But the nomination of Budi is a new peak in that mounting disappointment, as he would be among the top law enforcers tasked with realizing the President's pledges regarding law and justice, following the installment of the equally controversial M. Prasetyo as attorney general.
A sketch currently circulating depicts Budi and Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which leads Jokowi's coalition. The captions echo phrases in elementary reading books, reading "Ini Budi" (This is Budi) and "Ini Ibu Budi" (This is Budi's Mother), reflecting cynicism over the growing influence of Megawati over the President.
Jokowi's road since his installment was always expected to be rocky, given that his coalition is a minority in the 560-member House. But this latest criticism reflects shock that the President would, in order to consolidate his coalition, go so far as to ignore the nation's bastion of graft eradication.
As one of Jokowi's campaign volunteers wrote in an open letter, "[...] our support was not a blank check. We supported and voted for you as we believed you would fulfill your promise to eradicate corruption and uphold the law
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/16/editorial-je-suis-kpk.html