KPK demands salary increase

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) again demanded on Monday that the government raise the salaries of commission members to Rp 40 million (US$4,000) a month.

Commission members currently receive Rp 36 million a month, with the money coming from the monthly operational budget of the commission, KPK chairman Taufikurrahman Ruki said.

"We conveyed our demand to the President, the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the State Minister of Administrative Reforms a year ago, but there has been no response," he said at his office in Central Jakarta.

Ruki said the KPK proposed salaries of Rp 40 million a month based on a survey conducted by a consulting firm it hired.

"We hope the government will approve the raise soon, the sooner the better," he said.

Ruki also said his office had officially asked the government to give other law enforcers a raise as well.

"It would probably be appropriate for (the National Police) chief of detectives to get about Rp 60 million a month, judging from his duties.

"It is irrational for the chief of detectives, who is a three- star general, to be paid only Rp 2.2 million a month," said Ruki, who is a former police officer.

He said raises for law enforcers were necessary to improve law enforcement in the country.

The salaries of prosecutors and judges should also be increased significantly to help curb corruption, Ruki said.