Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – An Indonesian corruption watchdog representative accused the House of Representatives of bias in the ongoing process of filling five leadership spots within the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Coordinator of Indonesian Corruption Watch, Teten Masduki, said he was disappointed with the "improper" questions directed to certain of the candidates by the House's law commission during "fit and proper" hearings on Monday.

"Upon analysis of the questions... we're afraid they (the commission) had (a list of) favorite names in their hands (even) before the fit and proper test was complete," Teten told The Jakarta Post.

Some queries, he said, were out of the ordinary. They were too "light" and even coupled with praise. He contrasted those with the "tough" questions that presumably "unfavored candidates" got.

Because of the bias, he said, "qualified and dedicated professionals are no longer interested in joining the commission in the future, and it will discourage anticorruption measures if KPK consists of candidates favored by political parties."

Of the 10 candidates, the following four were questioned on Monday: Amin Sunarjadi, incumbent deputy KPK chief; Antasari Azhar, an Attorney General's Office chief prosecutor; Bibit Samad Rianto, East Kalimantan's former provincial police chief; and attorney Chandra Hamzah.

He was not able to explain the precise mechanism to be used to narrow the 10 candidates down to five, however he called for greater transparency in the process.

In hopes of ensuring a body that would be courageous in fighting rampant political and judicial corruption, he said, the commission members should disclose the "scores" given to the candidates.

Teten said, "The current KPK leadership has been selective in the war on corruption because they have been too close to the executives."

He said a stalwart anticorruption commission was especially important in view of weak law enforcement in Indonesia and the upcoming 2009 general elections.

"Indonesia needs no such a commission if law enforcers of the National Police, the Attorney General's Office and the courts are clean and committed to fighting against the corruption," he said.

Meanwhile, law commission chairman Trimedya Pandjaitan said the commission had decided on a "closed voting system" to select the "best five", as most members had declined to score candidates openly.

While acknowledging an open system would be better, Trimedya said "All members have to stick to the agreement made by the commission in determining the best five, regardless of transparency and objectivity."

By Wednesday evening, the commission is to have finished the selection process. The results will then be submitted to the President for approval.