KPK vs Police :  Let the court decide Hery Firmansyah and Adam Fenton  ;  Hery Firmansyah is a lecturer in criminal law at the faculty of law, Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta; Adam Fenton is studying for his PhD at the faculty of law, Charles Darwin University

JAKARTA POST, 03 Februari 2015

                                                                                                                                     

                                                

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the National Police, two national law enforcement institutions, are once again at loggerheads. It began when the KPK announced that the candidate for the National Police chief, Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, was suspected of owning illegal assets. The police then arrested a KPK deputy, Bambang Widjojanto. Furthermore, a number of KPK officials were also reported to the police by “concerned members of the public”, who claimed to be monitoring the activities of the KPK. This country is certainly in the midst of a crisis that will test its law enforcement processes. However, those who stand to gain from this conflict between the two law enforcers are obviously the corruptors themselves, their supporters and those who oppose efforts to wipe out corruption. This is only the latest in a series of incidents that reflects the growing tension between the police and the KPK since the era of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. This attack has been designed not only to demonstrate the superiority of the police but also to damage the credibility of the KPK as a law enforcement institution dedicated to stamping out corruption. The arrest of Bambang was full of drama and occurred shortly after the statement by the KPK was released regarding Budi. The KPK deputy has even been implicated on allegations of providing false testimony in a case dating back to 2010. The fact that Bambang was arrested without any prior call for him to attend an interview or provide information is out of place. It is therefore not surprising that many see his arrest as part of an effort to weaken, or even destroy, the KPK. Ideally however, the case should be resolved through proper legal processes, that is, in the courts. Only the courts provide a mechanism for publicly and openly revealing all the facts surrounding a case such as this based on available evidence. Only a full and transparent trial will be able to reveal which party is in the right, and which in the wrong. Thus, the community will be able to access all of the facts, and make its own assessment; rather than remaining in the darkness of doubt and uncertainty. The case of Soeharto is illustrative. Without legal proceedings against him, a dualism surrounding the former president remains between those in the community, who revere him as a hero to the nation, and those who see him as a villain who, through corruption, collusion and nepotism, caused great damage to this nation during the New Order regime. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, as the holder of the nation’s highest office, must give this matter his own personal attention and careful thought — free from any political influences. If he had heeded the initial warnings from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) in the screening of police chief candidates, it is highly likely that this outcome could have been avoided. It is also questionable when there is only one candidate for the job, and there are suggestions of links between the candidate himself and the leadership of the party that bore Jokowi to victory. The allegations and the charges against Bambang may be regarded as absurd. However, it is not advisable for immunity to be given to the heads of the KPK, as some have suggested. Such a step would have the potential to backfire. It would open the door for other law enforcement institutions to demand the same protection. The law will never be able to assume its position as the supreme resolver of disputes when cases such as this, involving high ranking officials, continue to be resolved by political maneuvering. The police and the KPK are institutions that fulfill important roles in Indonesian law enforcement — and an unhealthy competition between them has been evident for some time. The National Police’s resentment of the KPK stems, in part, from a perception among the police that many of the KPK’s biggest busts were supported by police expertise and investigators, and that the police don’t receive the credit they deserve. Police investigators often work on KPK investigations. This tension between the police and the KPK is not an all-out war between two institutions, rather it has been precipitated by individuals acting in arbitrary and unauthorized ways. Maybe it is time for a blind party to intervene. A party that is only concerned with discerning right from wrong, and fact from fiction,without any external influence; only finding the truth. Je suis anti-corruption. ●