House of Representatives Exposes Intellectual Author Behind KPK Law Revision, Refuses Further Amendments
A member of the House of Representatives’ Commission III from the PAN faction, Syarifuddin Sudding, has revealed that the Presidential Palace under the regime of Indonesia’s seventh president, Joko Widodo, was the initiator behind the proposed revision of the KPK Law in 2019.
According to Sudding, the Palace at the time requested that the KPK Bill be presented as a parliamentary initiative. In reality, however, the House was merely asked to put forward the Palace’s idea under Jokowi.
“If we’re being honest, the initial ideas and concepts behind the KPK Law revision — and the reason the House was asked to be the initiating party — came from the Palace at that time,” Sudding said when contacted on Thursday (19 February).
Sudding, who was a member of Commission III during the 2014–2019 period, said he was aware of the process from the very beginning.
He urged Jokowi to stop continuously maintaining his public image. Sudding went so far as to describe Jokowi as the intellectual author of the KPK Law revision.
“If we’re being really honest and we trace it back to the intellectual dader — to use the legal term — behind the KPK Law revision, it was actually Jokowi,” Sudding said.
“He just asked the House to act as the initiating party so he could protect his image and wash his hands of it,” he added.
According to Sudding, communication between the Palace and the House regarding the KPK Law revision at that time was conducted through Tjahjo Kumolo, who served as acting Minister of Law and Human Rights, and was subsequently continued by his replacement, Yasonna Laoly.
“It went through Pak Tjahjo Kumolo. But the person who understood it best at the time was also Pak Yasonna, if I’m not mistaken. Yasonna can also be asked for his views. He was also actively lobbying,” Sudding said.
He urged Jokowi to begin speaking honestly and to stop constantly protecting his image. According to Sudding, regardless of the circumstances, the Palace and the President at the time bear responsibility.
This is because, even if a bill is not signed by the president, legislation that has been deliberated and ratified between the House and the government can still come into effect, as stipulated under Article 20 paragraph 5 of the 1945 Constitution.
“Enough already — stop trying to maintain this image or protect this and that. I think it’s time for Pak Jokowi to just speak honestly,” Sudding said.
Yasonna Laoly, who currently serves as a member of the House’s Commission XIII, was contacted for comment but had only read the confirmation message at the time of publication.
House refuses to revise KPK Law
House Deputy Speaker Cucun Ahmad Syamsurizal affirmed that parliament would not accept proposals from any party to further revise the KPK Law. Cucun stressed that the House would remain consistent with the KPK Law revision ratified in 2019.
“There have been no proposals whatsoever to the House. So we remain consistent — let the law run its course,” Cucun said following the closing plenary session of the third sitting period on Thursday (20 February).
He said all proposed bills, not just those concerning the KPK, would be processed according to established mechanisms. However, he noted that no proposals to further revise the KPK Law had been received to date.
“If, for example, there is a proposal from the House and the government regarding any law — not just the KPK Law — there is a mechanism for that,” he said.
KPK Law Number 19 of 2019 came under the spotlight after being raised by Jokowi himself. Jokowi claimed to support reverting the KPK Law to its previous version.
He stated that the KPK Law was revised during his presidency on the initiative of the House, but that he did not sign the revised legislation.
“Yes, I agree, that’s good,” Jokowi said after watching the Persis Solo versus Madura United match at Manahan Stadium in Solo on Friday (13 February).