Right now, the government is in a battle, fighting for the substances of revision over the KPK Law initiated by the DPR, as I have mentioned earlierJakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) pointed to the friction between the government and House of Representatives (DPR) while deliberating a bill on the revision of Law No. 30 of 2002 on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
"Right now, the government is engaged in a skirmish of sorts, fighting for the substances of revision over the KPK Law initiated by the DPR, as I have mentioned earlier," Jokowi noted here on Monday.
The government and DPR are currently deliberating a bill on revision over the KPK Law. The DPR's Legislative Body submitted the bill on September 3, 2019, and the deliberation is expected to be completed at a plenary meeting on September 24, 2019.
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"Concerning the KPK Law revision, it is in the DPR. Let us watch it together. We all watch to make the KPK remain in a strong and strongest position in its fight against corruption, our common task," Jokowi stated.
The president confirmed to having no schedule in place to meet the current KPK leaders.
KPK Chairman Agus Rahardjo and his deputies -- Laode M. Syarif and Saut Situmorang -- have returned the mandate to lead the KPK to Jokowi and urged the president to adopt measures to save the anti-graft agency.
However, Jokowi clarified that the nation does not recognize a term of “returning the mandate to the President” as it is not in line with Law No. 30 of 2002. The KPK leaders could forego their position in the event of their resignation, demise, or legal conviction, though returning the mandate does not exist, he explained.
Meanwhile, the plan to revise the law has fueled pros and cons in the public. Those opposing the revision plan claim it will weaken the authorities of the KPK in its endeavors to end corruption in the country.
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The Center for Constitutional Law Studies of the Faculty of Law of the University of Indonesia, in a press statement dated September 15, 2019, expressed its objection of the planned revision.
Mustafa Fakhri, chairman of the Center for Constitutional Law Studies, urged President Jokowi to be consistent in his pledge to backing efforts to strengthen the KPK.
Furthermore, the Indonesian Consumers Protection Foundation (YLKI) vehemently rejected the revision plan of the KPK law, as victims of corruption practices are consumers.
"We strongly protest any attempt to weaken efforts to stop corruption, including the weakening of the KPK institution," YLKI Executive Chairman Tulus Abadi noted in a statement here on Monday.
Moreover, Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Advisory Board Chairman Din Syamsuddin rejected a plan to revise the Law on KPK if it would, in fact, impinge upon the anti-graft body’s tasks and functions.
"I object to the revision of the Law on KPK on grounds that it would weaken the KPK by reducing its functions and tasks," he informed the press here on Monday.
Moreover, if the revision would facilitate governmental intervention and place the KPK as a subordinate of the government, then it must be rejected, he emphasized.
Syamsuddin affirmed that any attempt to weaken the agency is a betrayal to the reform mandate demanding eradication of corruption, collusion, and nepotism.
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Translator: Desca L Natalia, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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