Hostilities mount against KPK

JAKARTA. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s pick for the position of National Police chief, Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, has launched his first salvo in what many see as a repeat of the “gecko vs crocodile” standoffs that pitted the police against the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

On Wednesday, the lawyers of Budi, whose inauguration as National Police chief has been postponed by Jokowi, filed a report with the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) on the KPK’s leadership, for what Budi called “an abuse of power” in naming him a graft suspect at the 11th hour before his expected inauguration as the new National Police chief.

The report follows Budi’s decision to file a pre-trial petition with the South Jakarta District Court to challenge the KPK’s move on Tuesday.

The pre-trial motion was filed after the online distribution of allegedly doctored intimate photos of KPK chairman Abraham Samad with Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira Wirayanti.

Earlier this week, the KPK faced more hurdles in investigating Budi after a number of active and retired police generals skipped KPK questioning, a move that prevented KPK investigators from collecting testimonies to build a strong case against Budi.

The KPK shrugged off Budi’s latest move, with the antigraft body’s deputy chairman, Zulkarnain, who has a background as a prosecutor, saying Budi was wrong to file his complaint with the AGO, as that institution did not have the authority to handle the case.

Zulkarnain also dismissed the pre-trial motion as irrelevant.

“A pre-trial petition is a legal means to question a law enforcer’s alleged misconduct in arresting or detaining a suspect. Legally, it has nothing to do with challenging a law enforcement institution’s decision on an individual,” he said.

Zulkarnain added that the only legal means for Budi to prove his innocence was through his upcoming graft trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court.

The KPK deputy chairman further called on Budi not to complicate the KPK’s work.

“We call on everybody to respect the legal process. Any action taken outside the legal process could impact on the investigation. We want the legal process at the KPK to be finished as soon as possible. Also, the public will be outraged with this kind of display, so let’s respect the legal process,” Zulkarnain said.

Meanwhile, KPK chairman Samad dismissed Budi’s accusation, saying that the KPK had not breached any regulations in its decision to name him a suspect.

“We have not committed any violations in this process,” Samad said.

Separately, University of Indonesia legal expert Ganjar Laksmana said there was nothing in the Criminal Law Procedures Code or the 1999 Corruption Law that could justify Budi’s latest move.

“There are many articles regulating the abuse of power, but I don’t think there’s one that regulates an abuse of power by a law enforcement institution to name someone a suspect,” said Ganjar,

Although Budi’s move on Wednesday could be considered a “joke”, Emerson Yuntho of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) warned that Budi’s complaint to the AGO could be a threat to the KPK, as the AGO, led by HM Prasetyo, a former NasDem Party politician, would likely conspire with the police to criminalize the KPK by processing Budi’s report.

Despite Budi’s status as a graft suspect, the government has not withdrawn his nomination, which may be enough for Budi to gain the upper hand in a possible standoff with the KPK.

“Jokowi must take action to prevent the conflict from getting ugly,” Emerson said, warning against a repeat of “gecko vs crocodile” episodes in 2009 that saw police officers surround the KPK’s headquarters on two occasions, following the anti-graft body’s alleged tapping into a senior police general in a graft case. (Haeril Halim and Fedina S. Sundaryani)