President Joko Widodo has said he would only submit the names of reputable figures among the Corruption Eradication Commission leadership candidates for the 2019-2023 period to the House of Representatives.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said he would only submit the names of reputable figures among the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leadership candidates for the 2019-2023 period to the House of Representatives. The President has also ordered that public suggestions regarding the candidates’ selection process be noted.
“I think we must not be in a hurry. What is most important is that the figures whose names are submitted to the House are really reputable,” the President told members of the selection committee in a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday (2/9/2019).
At this occasion, the selection committee led by Yenti Garnasih submitted the names of 10 KPK leadership candidates to the President. The 10 names were Alexander Marwata, Firli Bahuri, I Nyoman Wara, Johanis Tanak, Lili Pintauli Siregar, Luthfi Jayadi, Nawawi Pomolango, Nurul Ghufron, Roby Arya B and Sigit Danang Joyo.
In the meeting with the selection committee, the President also said, “I believe we now live in an era of transparency so I ask that all inputs be duly noted to improve upon what the selection committee has been working on.”
However, after the meeting that went on for more than an hour, Yenti said there were no requests to correct the selection results. She said the selection process was finished and the 10 names would be submitted to the House for a fit and proper test. “There will be no correction. It’s completed,” Yenti said.
Regulation
Article 30 of Law No. 30/2002 stipulates that the President must submit the names to the House within 14 workdays after receiving them from the selection committee. The House will then conduct a fit and proper test to choose five names out of the 10 submitted names within three months after receiving them from the President.
Under this regulation, the President has until mid-September to submit the 10 names to the House. Meanwhile, the House has until December 2019 to conduct the fit and proper test.
Oce Madril of Gadjah Mada University’s Corruption Studies Center (Pukat UGM) said he hoped the fit and proper test would be conducted by House members of the 2019-2024 period. This is because the KPK leadership for the 2019-2023 period will work together with House members of the 2019-2024 period.
House members of the 2014-2019 period will end their term on Oct. 1 2019. This means they will have less than three weeks to conduct a fit and proper test. Such a limited timeframe may reduce the quality of the fit and proper test. “In choosing the best candidates, lawmakers must study them carefully. This cannot be done in a hurry. It is better to let the incoming House members to do it,” Oce said.
With such a short timeframe to conduct the fit and proper test, the House’s final decision on the issue may be questionable.
However, House Commission III deputy chair of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) faction, Herman Hery, said he hoped House members of the 2014-2019 period could conduct the fit and proper test. He expressed hope the President would submit the names to the House soon. “[The names must be submitted] next week at least. This week will be even better,” he said.
Herman said a quicker process would end public debates on the candidates’ background. Furthermore, he said he believed the selection committee had carried out its duty professionally.
House Commission III member from the Golkar Party Aziz Syamsuddin said, “If we can discuss it quicker, why do it more slowly?”
House Commission III member from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Nasir Djamil said the President could provide some notes regarding allegedly problematic candidates to be used by the House during the fit and proper test. “If the President wishes to follow up public aspirations, just give notes and the House will use them during the fit and proper test,” he said.
Muhammadiyah chairman Haedar Nashir said he hoped the President and the House would choose the finest figures to lead the KPK. This is important as the KPK should be better and not be weakened moving forward.
“We should not continue this polemic. Therefore, I hope the President and the House will choose the finest figures to lead the KPK,” Haedar said.