Public cynical on anticorruption drive
Muninggar Sri Saraswati The Jakarta Post Jakarta
The cool response from the public with regard to the recruitment process for Commission for Corruption Eradication (KPK) executives indicates people's distrust in the government's move against corruption, observers have said.
"What do you expect from a speedy recruitment like that?" said Emmy Hafild, secretary-general of Indonesian Transparency International, over the weekend.
She doubted whether the government-sanctioned KPK selection committee would be able to select reputable candidates.
"They have only 57 days from now to establish the commission. How could they expect to find reliable candidates if they have allowed only 20 days for the registration?" Emmy said, questioning the government's commitment to the commission's establishment.
People, she warned, might not be well informed about the recruitment due to a lack of public information from the selection team. The committee has advertised the recruitment through the print media for several days.
As of Saturday, the committee confirmed that 66 candidates had applied for KPK leadership seats since recruitment opened on Oct. 1. Most of the applicants were retired government officials.
Committee deputy chairman Abdulgani Abdullah is convinced that the committee will manage to select reputable candidates, despite the time constraint.
"Do not underestimate the applicants. We also expect more people to have registered by the closing date of Oct. 20," he said over the weekend.
Due to the cool public response, the committee has changed the requirements for the candidates.
It permitted last week professional groups, non-governmental organizations and political parties to nominate candidates. Previously, the committee required candidates to nominate themselves.
Coordinator of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) Teten Masduki said the muted public reaction might indicate its distrust in the recruitment process.
He suggested that the committee not allow political parties to nominate candidates, saying that the KPK had to be free from any political influence in its attempt to eradicate corruption.
The KPK selection committee consists of 12 members, eight of whom are prosecutors, police officers and government officials, with the remainder lawyers and law experts.
The law practitioners are Adnan Buyung Nasution and Todung Mulya Lubis and law professors Harkristuti Harkrisnowo and Loebby Loekman, both from the University of Indonesia.
The committee will select 10 candidates to sit on the KPK executive board, who will be screened for their credibility, integrity and track record.
The team will have to submit the names of 10 candidates by Dec. 5 to President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who will select five and submit them to the House of Representatives for approval.
The commission is expected to start working by Dec. 27.
According to Law No. 30/2002 on the commission for the eradication of corruption, the House must endorse the five candidates within three months of the president proposing them.
Megawati approved only last month the members of the KPK selection committee, almost a year after the law on the commission was passed.
Several observers, who questioned the composition of the KPK selection committee members, have expressed doubt that the committee would establish a strong anticorruption commission with unquestioned independence and integrity.
KPK is dubbed a "super body," as its authority will include the investigation and prosecution of suspected corrupters, powers that are currently the privilege of the police and prosecutors.
The establishment of KPK has been postponed several times since 1999, due to the government's failure to comply with the law on corruption eradication.