Indonesia has ratified the UNCAC, so it should conform to the convention's principles and norms, Syarif remarked at the KPK's Anticorruption Education Center here on Tuesday.
"What is the mandate of the UNCAC that we have ratified? First, the anticorruption agency must be independent. Alhamdulillah (thank God), the KPK was once an independent agency. However, now, as we change it into a non-independent agency, it means that we did not comply with the UNCAC," he expounded.
In 2012, he noted that some 80 countries had congregated in Jakarta and agreed on the "Jakarta Principles for Anti-Corruption Agencies". It also made the KPK a model in corruption eradication.
"It said that the KPK has become a model. An anticorruption agency must be a permanent agency. It must be independent in terms of the financial aspect as well as human resources," he noted.
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He stressed that Indonesia should remain committed to eradicating corruption.
"We should revise the law on corruption first and not the law on KPK. However, we have to respect the parliament and government that have made the decision, although it is against the UNCAC," Syarif stated.
The amended KPK Law contains articles that anti-graft activists claim would defang the KPK.
It also requires all KPK employees to be civil servants, which will turn it into a government body and necessitate the anti-graft body to obtain a wiretapping warrant from the supervisory council.
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Translator: Benardy Ferdiansyah, Sri Harya
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
