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.