Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Legislators have seemingly ignored the content of recordings revealing an alleged plot by graft suspects, police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to fabricate evidence to frame the leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
During their meeting with the KPK on Wednesday, members of the House of Representatives' Commission III on law and human rights questioned the legitimacy of the wiretapped recordings, rather than offering to help the antigraft body deal with recent attempts to weaken the institution.
For example, a legislator from the Golkar, Dewi Asmara, questioned the purpose of the KPK leaders publicly revealing the content of the tape at the Constitutional Court.
"Did you reveal the content of the tape for the KPK's interest as an institution, or in the interests of Bibit and Chandra? I am asking this because I worry that the decision to play the tape was based on personal interest rather than that of the institution," she said.
The tape was publicly presented for the first time at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, and revealed a number of dialogues detailing a plot involving several high ranking officials from the police, the AGO, and Anggodo Widjojo, brother of Anggoro Widjojo, a graft suspect who has fled to Singapore, to have the two KPK deputy chairmen, Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto, framed and arrested.
A part of the tape even revealed a dialogue between Anggodo and a mysterious man who claimed he could assassinate Chandra as soon as he was detained.
Chandra and Bibit were released shortly after midnight on Tuesday, but the police repeatedly denied they had bowed to mounting public pressure.
KPK interim chief Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean said Chandra and Bibit were accused of abusing their power in their capacity as the antigraft body's deputy chairmen, so the leaders had decided to publish the tape for the sake of the institution, not that of the deputy chairmen.
A number of legislators also asked Tumpak and his deputies about their professionalism in handling the tape because its transcripts were made public in the media before the court session on Tuesday.
Tumpak then told legislators the transcript available in the media was different from the original recording.
"There is no way a leakage could have occurred. We have a firm and complicated system. Even if there was a leak, it was not conducted by any of the KPK employees," he said.
Tumpak also said that legislators should not worry about being wiretapped during the hearing, in response to a statement issued by a legislator from the United Development Party (PPP), Ahmad Dimyati, who said, "Frankly Pak, we are worried that we are being wiretapped right now".
Transparency International Indonesia secretary-general, Teten Masduki, told The Jakarta Post that he was not surprised about the lack of support from House legislators in the case against the antigraft body.
"The House should have shown more support toward the KPK, but we know that it is never going to happen. That's because the KPK is also considered an enemy of the legislators, who have seen some of their peers imprisoned due to corruption scandals," he said.
Currently, at least seven legislators have been named as suspects in various graft cases. Previous legislators thrown behind bars include Noor Adenan Razak, Hamka Yandhu, Anthony Zeidra Abidin, Yusuf Erwin Faishal, Sarjan Tahir, Al Amien Nur Nasution, Bulyan Royan and Saleh Djasit.
Separately, a political analyst from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), Burhanuddin Muhtadi, said the House had become a weak institution for failing to put pressure on the police and the AGO after the scandalous tape was revealed.
"The fact that Chandra and Bibit were released due to public pressure also shows that civilian forces have become more and more powerful, while the power of political parties is now practically dead," he said.