October 16, 2024
JAKARTA – With just a week left before President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo hands over the reins of power, there are several items on his agenda that remain unfinished. Yet, of all the issues on his list, none stand out as sharply as his insistence on continuing the selection process for new commissioners for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
This decision, made during the final days of his administration, has raised serious questions, particularly given the controversies surrounding the process and the short time left to properly vet the candidates.
The KPK, once hailed as a powerful watchdog in Indonesia’s fight against corruption, has seen its role and reputation diminished under Jokowi’s administration. In 2019, his government spearheaded the revision of the antigraft law, effectively defanging the KPK. And now, with his presidency coming to a close, Jokowi seems determined to personally oversee the selection of its new leaders.
But why the rush? Why the urgency to start and potentially conclude this process when there is clearly not enough time for a thorough and transparent vetting of candidates?
The current selection process is not just a matter of picking names from a list. The KPK’s autonomy and its crucial role in fighting corruption are at stake. Critics have pointed out that Jokowi’s insistence on pushing the selection process during his final days in office violates the spirit, if not the letter, of a 2023 Constitutional Court ruling.
The court emphasized that the president and the House of Representatives bear a heavy responsibility when selecting KPK leaders and warned that this process, if mishandled, could jeopardize the KPK’s independence. To underscore the importance of maintaining the commission’s autonomy, the court extended the terms of the sitting KPK leaders from four to five years.
Given this context, many have questioned why Jokowi did not follow the court ruling more thoroughly. While the tenure of the current KPK leaders will end in December, why not defer the selection of new candidates to president-elect Prabowo Subianto? The new administration would have more time to properly assess the candidates and ensure a smooth transition in leadership without the rush.
Jokowi’s decision to continue with the process raises concerns about his intentions and the transparency of the selection process. Detractors now fear that Jokowi’s involvement in the KPK leadership selection could undermine the process, favoring certain candidates without proper scrutiny.
The Presidential Palace has defended the decision, arguing that starting the selection process early allows enough time to vet candidates properly. But even if the timing were appropriate, the process has been mired in opacity from the start.
The final 10 candidates who will be proposed to the House have drawn intense criticism, partly because some of them have ties to the police, which on several occasions have attempted to obstruct the KPK’s enforcement of the law. Concerns have been raised about the expulsion of former KPK operatives who were once seen as strong contenders, but eventually disappeared from the list.
Under Jokowi’s administration, Indonesia’s ranking on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has seen its most significant decline in 25 years. In 2022, the country’s CPI fell to 34, down from a peak of 40 in 2019, the same year the KPK Law was revised. The KPK, once a superbody in the fight against corruption, is now a shadow of its former self, and Jokowi’s push to select its new leaders is yet another blow to its already fragile state.
The selection of new KPK leaders is too important to be handled in haste. Jokowi should leave this decision to the next administration, allowing for a proper review and ensuring that the antigraft body can regain its strength and independence under new leadership.
As the President prepares to exit the political stage, he should prioritize the integrity of the KPK over the rush to finalize its leadership. The fight against corruption is too important to be compromised by a hasty decision in the final days of his term.