Public distrust government anticorruption move
Public distrust government anticorruption move
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The cool response from the public with regard to the recruitment
process for Commission for Corruption Eradication (KPK)
executives indicates people's distrust in the government's move
against corruption, observers have said.
"What do you expect from a speedy recruitment like that?" said
Emmy Hafild, secretary-general of Indonesian Transparency
International, over the weekend.
She doubted whether the government-sanctioned KPK selection
committee would be able to select reputable candidates.
"They have only 57 days from now to establish the commission.
How could they expect to find reliable candidates if they have
allowed only 20 days for the registration?" Emmy said,
questioning the government's commitment to the commission's
establishment.
People, she warned, might not be well informed about the
recruitment due to a lack of public information from the
selection team. The committee has advertised the recruitment
through the print media for several days.
As of Saturday, the committee confirmed that 66 candidates had
applied for KPK leadership seats since recruitment opened on Oct.
1. Most of the applicants were retired government officials.
Committee deputy chairman Abdulgani Abdullah is convinced that
the committee will manage to select reputable candidates, despite
the time constraint.
"Do not underestimate the applicants. We also expect more
people to have registered by the closing date of Oct. 20," he
said over the weekend.
Due to the cool public response, the committee has changed the
requirements for the candidates.
It permitted last week professional groups, non-governmental
organizations and political parties to nominate candidates.
Previously, the committee required candidates to nominate
themselves.
Coordinator of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) Teten Masduki
said the muted public reaction might indicate its distrust in the
recruitment process.
He suggested that the committee not allow political parties to
nominate candidates, saying that the KPK had to be free from any
political influence in its attempt to eradicate corruption.
The KPK selection committee consists of 12 members, eight of
whom are prosecutors, police officers and government officials,
with the remainder lawyers and law experts.
The law practitioners are Adnan Buyung Nasution and Todung
Mulya Lubis and law professors Harkristuti Harkrisnowo and Loebby
Loekman, both from the University of Indonesia.
The committee will select 10 candidates to sit on the KPK
executive board, who will be screened for their credibility,
integrity and track record.
The team will have to submit the names of 10 candidates by
Dec. 5 to President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who will select five
and submit them to the House of Representatives for approval.
The commission is expected to start working by Dec. 27.
According to Law No. 30/2002 on the commission for the
eradication of corruption, the House must endorse the five
candidates within three months of the president proposing them.
Megawati approved only last month the members of the KPK
selection committee, almost a year after the law on the
commission was passed.
Several observers, who questioned the composition of the KPK
selection committee members, have expressed doubt that the
committee would establish a strong anticorruption commission with
unquestioned independence and integrity.
KPK is 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.
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.