KPKPN to fight for its existence

JAKARTA: Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) chairman Yusuf Syakir said on Tuesday that he would file a judicial review with the Supreme Court over a government decision to dissolve the commission and establish an anticorruption commission.

"We will file a judicial review over the law as we consider the government decision to dissolve the commission as unwise. Isn't it better if both KPKPN and the proposed commission work together to eradicate corruption in this country?," Yusuf said on the sidelines of KPKPN's two-day working meeting here Monday.

KPKPN was established early 2001 to audit the wealth of some 50,000 state officials, ranging from the president to officials at regency and mayoralty levels nationwide.

KPKPN, which is not bestowed with the power to carry out investigations, has questioned a number of government officials, the latest one being Attorney General M.A. Rachman, who was accused of concealing his wealth, including a luxury house in Cinere, Depok.

Some legislators have openly criticized KPKPN, saying it had grown too powerful.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri is yet to sign into law a bill endorsed by the House of Representatives in November 2002. --JP