Nivell Rayda – Watchdog groups and lawyers on Monday criticized the recent police summons of several active members of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), saying the move amounted to direct interference in the independent body.

At least 20 lawyers went to the body's headquarters in the Kuningan area of South Jakarta to show support for the commission, also known as the KPK, in response to last week's police questioning of four deputy chairmen over abuse of power allegations.

Critics have slammed the police and questioned the motive for the probe, which appears to have shifted several times over the past few months.

Police initially suspected that the deputies had received bribes from a fugitive businessman, but lack of evidence caused them change the allegations to misuse of power, including the KPK's authority to issue travel bans.

Bambang Widjojanto, the lawyers' representative, told reporters that they would offer legal assistance to KPK officials should the police try to declare them suspects in the case.

"This is criminalizing KPK authorities and their effort to eradicate corruption," he said. "Police have no right to question KPK authorities. Police are clearly trying to pin down the KPK."

A separate group of lawyers also showed their support for the KPK, accusing the House of Representatives of stalling the deliberation of the Anti-Corruption Court bill and questioning calls from several politicians to strip the commission of its power to prosecute.

"We see that the current bill strays far from what the public wanted. People want a clean government, and the KPK is the only institution that can deliver that," said Saur Siagian, a representative of the second group of lawyers. "We will challenge any law that strips the KPK of its powers and sue the House for issuing it."

Wearing formal lawyers' robes, the second group rallied in front of the House and the Constitutional Court before ending their demonstration in front of the Presidential Palace.

Suyanto Londang, a legal expert from Krisna Dwipayana University in Jakarta, said the KPK was meant to have the power to investigate as well as prosecute.

"The KPK was born because the police and the prosecutor's office are corrupt themselves. There is little evidence that things have changed since," he said. "The KPK must be draconian if we ever want to eradicate the rampant practice of corruption in the country."

Speaking at a discussion at the National Legal Aid Foundation, Emerson Yuntho, deputy chairman of Indonesia Corruption Watch, said there was an ongoing systematic effort to undermine the KPK by both the House and police, two of the most corrupt institutions in the country according to a recent study by Transparency International Indonesia.

"Corrupt officials have a lot to gain from the destruction of the KPK," Emerson said. "If the government is serious about fighting corruption, they should leave the KPK alone."