Thwarting Bankruptcy

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Anti-corruption activists and Corruption Eradication Commission employees held a #SaveKPK action at the KPK\'s Red and White House, Jakarta, Sunday (8/9/2019). In that action they closed a number of KPK logos and writings as a symbol of weakening the eradication of corruption that would die.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has been plagued by a series of scandals, tainting the once respected and authoritative institution.

Initially, the political elite did not want an antigraft institution established. However, with the spirit of the reformation era seeping into the political elite came People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Decree No. XI/MPR/1998, which gave birth to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

But as time went on, so did attacks on the KPK. This fortress for civil society collapsed when the House of Representatives and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo revised the KPK Law. Despite his acknowledgement, President Jokowi took symbolic political steps not to regulate the KPK Law.

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President Jokowi’s attitude to revise the KPK Law could be a political gimmick. However, the President’s “compromising” attitude after the House and his ministers revised the KPK Law, may not be what the President hoped for. After the revision of the KPK Law was approved, the antigraft institution grew even weaker. Meanwhile, new faces began to dominate the institution.

The arrests of the Social Affairs Minister and the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister as well as the South Sulawesi Governor have yet to restore the public’s trust. People are still waiting for the arrest of politician Harun Masiku, for example.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Firli Bahuri at a press conference at the KPK\'s Red and White House, Jakarta, Thursday (22/4/2021). The KPK detained KPK investigator  Stepanus Robin Pattuju (vest, left) and lawyer Maskur Husain (vest, right). Stepanus Robin Pattuju is suspected of extortion against the Mayor of Tanjungbalai, North Sumatra, M Syahrial.

It is not the recovery performance that has stood out, rather it is the public’s disappointment that continues to resurface. Starting from the investigative decisions made toward Bank Indonesia liquidity assistance suspect Sjamsul Nursalim, stolen evidence, the KPK investigators’ extortions and exposing of Senayan political interactions as well as the leaking of information on confiscation operations.

With the scandals that have occurred at the KPK, the question that arises is whether these incidents have been systematically aimed at destroying the KPK. The series of events that have occurred in the KPK could lead to the “bankruptcy” of the KPK’s social capital. It would be an extraordinary event if this occurs in President Jokowi’s era, someone who championed corruption eradication and, according to the Nawacita document, supervised the KPK.

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The public continues to hope that, despite diminishing trust in the KPK, that the institution can still survive. In this regard, all hope is placed on the Constitutional Court. The forms and case files have already been placed on the Court’s table. However, we just don’t know when. The public is certain that the Constitutional Court will remain the guardian of the country’s conscience in the era of Court Chief Justice Mahfud MD, who played a role in fortifying the KPK.

The Court’s decision will determine whether the KPK will go bankrupt of its social capital. History will record whether the Court saves the KPK or the opposite, only justifying the motives of the elite to halt the KPK. Or, will President Jokowi himself take the needed political steps to restore the KPK to its former glory?

This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia.