Legal expert and anti-corruption activist from Faculty of Law UGM has urged the leadership of People’s Legislative Assembly not to revise Law No 30 Year 2012 on Anti-corruption Commission (KPK). It is assumed that the amendment carries political purpose to weaken the KPK that currently investigate corruption cases that allegedly involve members of parliament (DPR). Should the amendment continue, President Joko Widodo is asked to intervene by not discussing such amendments any longer.
This emerged in a Seminar themed Grasping Public Aspiration on Planned Amendment to Law No 30 Year 2012 on the KPK, at Faculty of Law UGM on Wednesday (22/3). Present in the seminar were criminal law expert, Prof. Eddy Hiarej, Head of UGM’s Centre for Anti-corruption Studies (Pukat), Dr. Zainal Arifin Mochtar, lecturer, Mahaarum Kusuma Pertiwi, SH, M.Hum., M.Phil, chairman of DPR expertise board, Johnson Rajagukguk, and Head of Legislation Drafting of the DPR, Dr. Inosentiussamsul, SH. MH.
Zainal Arifin Mochtar said law amendments were not urgent amidst the anti-corruption measures taken by the KPK. Instead, the DPR should improve the Law on Corruption Crime in order that it is suitable to the implementation of UNCAC. “It would be far more important if the DPR improve our Corruption Law to be synchronised with the UNCAC, then establish regional KPKs. This would be far more interesting,” he said.
The Administration law lecturer assessed the effort to revise the Law is heavily political amidst the process where the KPK is working on a case that allegedly involves members of the DPR. According to Zainal, there is no new things in the draft revision, but old ideas being resurfaced. Zainal urged President Joko Widodo to reject the draft revision. “I hope this draft law will stop, even if it continues, I hope the President would not sign it, so eventually there is no discussion on this issue whatsoever,” he said.
Eddy OS Hiarej assessed the revision was an attempt to weaken the KPK. He shared Zainal’s view that what needs to be improved by the DPR is the Corruption Law. Eddy further asked the DPR to stop the revision. He said corruption is an extraordinary crime so that its handling and measures also requires extraordinary efforts.
Chairman of DPR expertise board, Johnson Rajagukuguk, said the revision of the Law contains four points: wiretapping regulation, monitoring board formation, issuance of termination instruction and recruitment of investigators. Even so, Johnson said they were doing a socialisation of the revision to collect public aspiration. “We just need to collect public aspiration, whether or not to revise the KPK Law. The authority to revoke this issue lies at the hands of the DPR speakers,” he said.