Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono re-affirmed Friday his commitment to rooting out corruption, saying nobody is above the law in the anti-graft drive he himself is leading.

But the effort has met with challenges both from his government and the House of Representatives.

Corruption watchdogs have expressed fears that a bill on the Corruption Court submitted by the government to the House this week, along with a lawmakers' move to revise the law on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), will undermine the fight against graft.

The government-sponsored bill on the Corruption Court revives the control of district courts and restricts the role of ad hoc judges.

"The public knows that ordinary courts are vulnerable to corruption. Reform initiatives like the anti-corruption drive can't be conducted by institutions that resist reform," Fahmi Badoh, coordinator of Indonesia Corruption Watch, said.

ICW said the bill would discourage the hard work of the KPK as it could lead to the removal of ad hoc judges from the panel hearing corruption cases.

"Why should we draft a bill on anti-corruption if its implementation would not support the campaign in the first place?" Fahmi said.

ICW is also worried about a move by House lawmakers who want to restrict the KPK's use of phone tapping to gather evidence. The plan comes after a series of KPK arrests of House lawmakers made with the use of phone bugging.

A member of the House's Commission III on legal affairs, Gayus Lumbuun, said the KPK had no authority to tap conversations. He was referring to the 2003 law on advocates, which restricts investigators from tapping conversations between lawyers and their clients.

"Moreover, the 1999 law on telecommunications stipulates that any attempt to tap conversations for the purpose of investigation must be conducted in cooperation with the telecommunications regulating body and operators," Gayus of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said.

He dismissed arguments that the revision would limit the KPK's ability to fight corruption. "Instead, the revision will add legitimacy to the KPK's methods, including the right to tap conversations," he said.

ICW also criticized the Yudhoyono administration for not doing enough to prove its commitment to waylaying corruption. Fahmi said Yudhoyono should not protect any of his aides or relatives implicated in graft cases.

"If the President is really determined to root out corruption, he should encourage investigators to immediately respond to the court findings on the alleged involvement of people close to graft cases," Fahmi said.