Only 40 pass 2nd screening for KPK posts
Only 40 pass 2nd screening for KPK posts
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Only 40, or less than one fifth, of 218 aspirants vying for posts
on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), have passed the
second screening, a selection committee member said on Tuesday.
Romli Atmasasmita, the selection committee chairman, told a
press conference that the 40 were judged based on their papers,
detailing their views on corrupt practices in the country and how
to eradicate corruption.
"Most of the candidates failed this test due to poor vision
and mission, as well as a lack of personal integrity and
experience in eradicating corruption," Romli told reporters
during a press conference on Tuesday.
As many as 523 people had submitted their applications for
five seats in the yet-to-be-established KPK, but only 223 passed
the initial administrative screening.
The 223 aspirants were then asked to submit papers on
corruption, but only 218 submitted their papers.
Those who passed the second screening included chairman of the
Transparency International Indonesia Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas,
Partnership for Governance Reform activist Bambang Widjojanto,
former justice minister Marsilam Simanjuntak, lawyers Iskandar
Sonhadji and Abdul Ficar Hadjar, and retired police officer Insp.
Gen. (ret) Momo Kelana.
The 40 successful aspirants will undergo personal assessment
tests on Dec. 1. The test results will be announced on Dec. 5 and
on Dec. 8, the aspirants will be interviewed, in open-to-the-
public sessions.
Romli said the selection committee has tried its best to
maintain independence during the selection process.
"For example, we didn't know their names when we read their
papers," said Romli, adding that the results were arrived at
through consensus rather than a voting process.
During the press conference, Romli, who was accompanied by
committee deputy chairperson Abdulgani Abdullah and members
Todung Mulya Lubis and Indriyanto Seno Adji, called on the public
to respond to the selection process.
"Thus far, we have only obtained 360 responses," Romli said,
saying that the committee needed widespread support to encourage
reputed candidates to sit on the commission.
He said he was optimistic that the KPK executive board would
be inaugurated by the President before Dec. 27, as required by
Law No. 30/2002 on the Corruption Eradication Commission.
The selection team would have to submit the names of 10
candidates by Dec. 10 to President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who
would select five to submit to the House of Representatives for
approval.
"They will be able to start working in January," he said.
Earlier, KPK selection committee deputy chairperson Adnan
Buyung Nasution doubted that the quality of the candidates was
high enough to find ten names to submit to the President.
KPK has been 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.
It may also take over the investigation of corruption cases.
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.
Many doubted whether the new commission would be able to
effectively combat corruption in the country. Several
international surveys had ranked Indonesia within the top five of
the world's most corrupt countries.