Jakarta – Constitutional Court justice Akil Mochtar warned the government it would be breaching the 2002 Anticorruption Law if it pushes ahead with the contentious draft regulation that would strip the wiretapping authority from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Receiving activists of the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) at his office here on Monday, Akil said if the government insisted on enacting the draft regulation, it would not be able to breach the anticorruption law which was in higher position than any government regulation.
"Bugging has been regulated in the law while the government regulation has only raised controversy. From the law's perspective, and logic, the draft regulation and its content must comply with the law," he said.
The draft regulation prepared by the government to enforce the 2008 Information and Electronics Transaction Law has raised controversy and sparked opposition from the public, including the KPK and anticorruption watchdogs, since it requires the antigraft body to gain permits from the Central Jakarta District Court before wiretapping public officials involved in corruption.
It also mandates the establishment of a national center for interception having authority in regulating the wiretapping procedure.
The draft regulation emerged only weeks after the Constitutional Court played wiretapped conversation between corruption fugitive Anggoro Widjojo's younger brother Anggodo Widjojo and several high-profile law enforcers, including former National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji and inactive deputy attorney general Abdul Hakim Ritonga, on Nov. 21, 2009, in connection with fabricated charges against KPK deputy chairmen Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah.
The recordings, gained by the KPK in investigating the Rp 6.76-trillion Bank Century bailout scandal, were deemed a slap in the faces of the National Police and the Attorney General's Office.
Minister of Information and Communication Tifatul Sembiring who failed to meet with KPK leaders on Monday, reiterated that bugging had to be regulated to avoid any abuse by state institutions or agencies that have the authority to use wiretaps.
Akil questioned the government's move to set up the interception center, which would operate under the jurisdiction of the Information Ministry, and said the center would have no authority to regulate KPK whose bugging authority was guaranteed by law.
According to him, the draft regulation is a setback to reform and if the government goes ahead, it will be going against the constitution.
Separately, rector of the state Islamic University Syarief Hidayatullah Komaruddin Hidayat questioned the government's commitment to fighting corruption which has been put in an emergency condition in the last two decades.
"If the government is serious about combating corruption they should accept the law giving special authority to the KPK to [wiretap] public officials allegedly involved in graft. The draft regulation must not weaken the KPK in its efforts against corruption," he said.
Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri declined to comment as he was learning more about it.