Please
fix blunders, Mr President!
Mohamad Mova Al’Afghani ; Director
of the Center for Regulation,
Policy and Governance in Jakarta
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JAKARTA
POST, 29 Januari 2015
The arrest of Bambang Widjojanto, a deputy of the
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday, was not the first time the
police have moved against the commission. In October 2009, under then
president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, two KPK deputies were arrested in a saga
known as the “gecko versus crocodile” dispute.
This move sparked a public outcry that eventually led to
the release of the KPK leaders. One difference stands out between these
seemingly similar incidents — the reasons behind them.
Back in 2009, the dispute was caused by rivalry between
the two institutions, with Yudhoyono playing a mediating role. This time
around, however, the hostilities were sparked when President Joko “Jokowi”
Widodo nominated as a candidate for the position of police chief Comr. Gen.
Budi Gunawan, who had been red-flagged by the KPK and the Financial
Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) when he was on the short list
for Cabinet posts last year.
Nevertheless, the President insisted on Budi’s nomination
and this is presumably what led the KPK to declare the candidate a graft
suspect. Within 10 days, KPK deputy Bambang was arrested on charges of
instructing witnesses to provide false testimony at the Constitutional Court,
in a case of a disputed result in a local election.
Netizens speculated that President Jokowi might have
deliberately nominated a sole, problematic candidate for the top police post
in order that he be rejected by the legislature. This was thought to be a
smart move by some, since the President would then not need to directly
challenge the PDI-P politicians who supported the candidate’s nomination.
Yet if this was the President’s intention, then it was not
a smart move at all, as the House of Representatives was not certain to throw
out Budi’s nomination — and, indeed, in the end all House factions did
endorse the tainted candidate.
If the President had not nominated a person who had been
red-flagged by the KPK and PPATK, this whole debacle could have been avoided.
That was President Jokowi’s gravest mistake.
When the candidate was declared a suspect by the KPK, the
President’s response was that he would postpone — but not cancel — his
nomination.
By doing so, he risked prolonging the rivalry between the
institutions. What if the candidate was detained by the KPK after he was
inaugurated? Would his status as police chief make it more difficult for the
KPK to continue its investigation and collect evidence? It is beyond belief
that the President chose to assume these risks. Had he cancelled Budi’s
nomination, then we wouldn’t have had to go this far. That was the
President’s second blunder.
The President then decided to relieve National Police
chief Gen. Sutarman of his duties and ordered his deputy, Comr. Gen. Badrodin
Haiti, to carry out Sutarman’s duties. Technically, the National Police, at
the moment, has no chief.
The Presidential Decree that transfers the tasks and
authorities to the deputy police chief may stipulate that the deputy has the
same functions and authorities as the police chief, but the police law
clearly limits such tasks and authorities to the chief, not his deputy.
The only task of a deputy chief is to help the police
chief to carry out his daily tasks. In effect, the deputy has little
authority. Thus the legality of his actions is also subject to question. The
KPK, then, is not the only one affected by the nomination scandal; the
National Police are adversely affected too.
What was the President thinking? Every breakthrough he
accomplished during the early days of his presidency has been eclipsed by
these scandals. Why would he risk the integrity of two law enforcement
institutions – the KPK and the police– over a nomination to hastily replace
Sutarman, whose retirement was due in October anyway? Why would he risk his
own legitimacy and the trust of his voters and volunteers who helped his
campaign over this? I voted for Jokowi and I am utterly dismayed by his
blunders.
When the KPK vs. National Police dispute occurred back in
2009, Yudhoyono’s response — after a public outcry — was the appointment of
an independent team tasked with verifying facts and recommending a solution;
they ended by recommending to the Attorney General’s Office that the case
against the KPK deputies be closed.
It is doubtful if President Jokowi will have the courage
and will to take decisive action. Unlike Yudhoyono, Jokowi does not control
the coalition that supports him, nor does he control the coalition’s
representatives in the House — almost all of who insist that the problematic
nomination of the police chief candidate must continue. Those parties are all
under the control of an oligarchy outside the bureaucracy.
This was reflected in the President’s response to
Bambang’s arrest. The President remarked only that he had asked the police
and the KPK not to let friction occur and to ensure the proceedings be
objective and in line with regulations. This was a very disappointing remark
in the wake of a blatant display of legal procedures themselves being used as
a tool to impede corruption eradication efforts. The public trust in law
enforcement is at its lowest ebb now.
The President started this series of blunders and thus it
is his responsibility to fix the situation. The longer he prolongs this
problem, the more bitter the relationship between the KPK and the police will
become, and the less legitimacy Jokowi will have. Demonstrations have already
been organized in several regions in support of the antigraft body.
There appears to be a glimpse of hope with Sunday’s
announcement by Jokowi that he had consulted with independent public figures.
However, even if they were officially installed as an
“independent team”, they would be limited to providing recommendations to the
President as to how this problem can be settled.
At the end of the day, it is up to Jokowi to carry out the
recommendations. When the time comes, the President will have to make a swift
and brave decision.
Until that time comes, the public needs to safeguard the
process and ensure that the anticorruption and police reform agendas remain
on track. ●
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