Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – A proposal for wiretapping to be regulated by the Information and Communications Ministry has been met with mixed reactions, with activists claiming it would dampen the effectiveness of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
One of the key aspects of the KPK – its authority to wiretap without prior court approval – was assigned to the commission during its formation, based on the understanding it needed such authority to retain independence from the graft-riddled court system.
The proposal to regulate the KPK's wiretapping was raised Monday by Information and Communication Minister Tifatul Sembiring, at a hearing with House Commission I on defense, foreign and information issues. While the ministry currently audits the KPK's wiretaps, it does not have the right to wiretap itself.
To date the KPK has used wiretapping effectively and responsibly, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said. "We have used wiretapping effectively and (the authority to wiretap) has allowed us to convict multiple high-profile corruption offenders," Johan told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
These have included senior prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan and former General Election Commission member Mulyana W. Kusuma.
The KPK's wiretapping activities have been audited annually by a joint committee comprising officials from the KPK and the Information and Communication Ministry, he said. "The team has never found any violations in our wiretapping activities," he said.
Meanwhile, Tifatul said regulation was needed to prevent disputes between institutions with wiretapping authority. The minister was referring to a recent debacle surrounding evidence the KPK uncovered in its wiretapped telephone conversations between high-ranking officials of the National Police, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), and businessman Anggodo Widjojo.
The recordings were played at a Constitutional Court hearing, revealing an apparent conspiracy to criminalise two deputy chairmen of the KPK and convincing the public that police had fabricated evidence against them.
Wiretapping authority should be handled by one institution and should require court approval, Tifatul said, adding that some countries had such institutions under the auspices of their communication ministries.
Currently the Information and Communication Ministry is working with the Justice and Human Rights Ministry to discuss the proposal.
"We need to harmonize the (proposed regulation) with existing laws such as the 2002 Law on the KPK, the 1997 Law on Narcotics and the 2003 Law on Terrorism," Justice and Human Rights Ministry coordination director Wicipto told the Post.
Saldi Isra, an antigraft activist researcher from Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, criticized the proposed regulation, saying it would restrict the authority of the KPK and could easily foil investigations.
"What I'm afraid of is that if the KPK needs to gain permission from certain institutions to wiretap people, the secrecy of its investigations would be compromised," Saldi told the Post.
What the government must do now is simply to ensure that the KPK wields its authority to wiretap properly and accountably, he said.