PKS Calls Jokowi's Claim of Not Signing 2019 KPK Bill 'Absurd'

House Commission III member from the PKS faction, Nasir Djamil, has said that former President Joko Widodo’s (Jokowi) claim of having rejected the 2019 revision of the KPK Law by not signing the revised bill is far-fetched.

Nasir stated that the revision of any law, including the KPK Bill at the time, could not have been carried out without the joint approval of the House of Representatives and the government.

“So really, what Pak Jokowi conveyed seems like something rather far-fetched,” Nasir said in South Jakarta on Friday (20 February).

He even suggested that Jokowi appeared to be forgetting something he himself had done. According to Nasir, Jokowi’s decision not to sign the revised bill cannot serve as a valid excuse.

This is because, under constitutional provisions, a revised law will still come into force within 30 days even without the President’s signature. This provision is enshrined in Article 20, Paragraph 5 of the Constitution, which states: “In the event that a bill which has been jointly approved is not signed by the President within thirty days of its approval, that bill shall be valid as law and must be promulgated.”

“Therefore, once again, what Pak Jokowi conveyed is something that, in my view, is also absurd,” he said.

Nasir said he did not understand the intent behind the statement from the former PDIP politician. According to him, a president should not be expressing regret over decisions after the fact.

“Is he expressing regret? Regret should come at the beginning, not at the end. Although many people do regret things at the end. But because he was President, his regret should have come at the start, so that he could have been more careful in his actions,” Nasir said.

“So in my view, this is futile regret,” he added.

Meanwhile, Nasir said that as of now there are no plans to revise the KPK Law again or restore it to its previous version. He noted that legislative revisions can be undertaken based on need.

However, Nasir said the House would continue to monitor developments and whether there are proposals, either from the public or from law enforcement officials, to revise the law.

“So we will look at public complaints alongside complaints from law enforcement officials who implement the law,” he said.

Law Number 19 of 2019 concerning the KPK came under the spotlight after Jokowi raised the matter. He expressed his support for restoring the KPK Law to its original version.

Jokowi said the KPK Law was revised during his presidency on the initiative of the House of Representatives, but that he did not sign the revised law.

“At that time, it was revised on the initiative of the House of Representatives. But I never signed it,” Jokowi said after watching the Persis Solo versus Madura United match at Manahan Stadium in Solo on Friday (13 February).