SUMMARY:

After more than a month of silence and a legal battle that has severely weakened the nation’s top anti-graft body, President Joko “Jokwoi” Widodo declared on Wednesday, Feb. 18 that he was officially withdrawing his nomination of Budi Gunawan to become National Police chief, and was instead endorsing Badrodin Haiti as Indonesia’s next top cop. Badrodin has previously served as the chief of a number of provincial police forces, including  Banten (2004-05), Central Sulawesi (2006-08), North Sumatra (2009-10) and East Java (2010-11), and was implicated in the same report by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) which had originally uncovered Budi Gunawan’s  suspicious bank account transactions.

 

Also on Wednesday, Feb. 18, Jokowi released a Presidential decree in lieu of law (Perppu) to suspend KPK Chair Abraham Samad and KPK Vice Chair Bambang Widjojanto, and to appoint temporary replacements. Under the Perppu, the KPK’s first chairman Taufiequrachman Ruki will return to active duty as Commissioner, along with law professor Dr. Indrianto Seno Adji, and the KPK’s current Deputy for Corruption Prevention, Johan Budi.

 

On Tuesday, Feb. 17, the National Police continued to bring pressure to bear on Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Deputy Chair Abraham Samad through the filing of charges related to a breach of ethics and potential abuse of power related to allegations Abraham offered leniency to leaders of PDI-P in exchange for political favors.

 

IMPLICATIONS:

While the cancelation of Budi Gunawan’s promotion to chief of National Police comes as a relief to those in the anti-corruption field, the slow pace at which Jokowi has moved to contain the institutional conflict leaves the KPK weakened. Badrodin appears to represent a group inside the police that is less hostile towards KPK, but the fact that he is also tainted by the “fat accounts” allegations raises concerns about his anti-graft credentials.

 

Jokowi’s decision to pursue the use of a Perppu to install temporary commissioners raises interesting issues, firstly because it overrides the normal nomination and confirmation procedures outlined in the KPK Law, but because its use by former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was ultimately repealed by the House of Representatives. First impressions are that, this time around, the DPR would to be more accepting of the mechanism.

 

The profile of the newly-appointed KPK leader is mixed and appears to satisfy a range of needs: Taufiqurahman, with his Police and KPK backgrounds, will likely be seen as a bridge between the warring institutions. Budi, who has been with KPK for a decade, should be able to restore morale in the battered agency. And Indriyanto, as a legal scholar, could tackle the structural and legislative reform needs that the current crisis has made evident.

 

Legal experts continued to analyze the verdict issued by the South Jakarta District court in order to examine its contents and potential avenues for legal appeal. Judge Sarpin Rizaldi, who issued the ruling, has a checkered ethical background, having been sanctioned by the Judicial Commission on no short of eight prior occasions.

 

New charges filed today against Abraham Samad do not necessarily reflect a change in the current situation in which he finds himself. He is facing two serious cases, both of which are also being examined by the KPK’s own Internal Monitoring Unit.

 

COMMISSIONERS’ LEGAL STATUS UPDATE

Abraham Samad – charged as a suspect in two separate investigations

Adnan Pandu Praja – complaint filed with police, under investigation

Bambang Widjojanto – charged as a suspect

Zulkarnain – complaint filed with police, under investigation

 

OTHER LEGAL UPDATES

KPK Corruption Prevention Director Johan Budi -  complaint filed with police

Former KPK Commissioner Chandra Hamzah – complaint filed with police

Former KPK Commissioner Busyro Muqoddas – complaint filed with police

Former Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana – complaint filed with police

 

PROFILES OF NEW LEADERS:

Badrodin Haiti was proposed by President Joko Widodo to the House of Representatives as the next Police Chief. As the House is not currently in session, it is expected that it will review his candidacy upon in return in a month’s time. As the Acting Chief of Police during the recent crisis, he appeared less aggressive towards KPK, but at times struggled to control his senior staff. Badrodin has been the Deputy Chief of Police for just under a year, previously heading the North Sumatra, Central Sulawesi, and Banten Police Districts. He was implicated in the “fat accounts” case, where PPATK learned that a significant deposit of funds to his account that were not in line with his police salary income patterns (appr 22 million IDR/month). According to his recent wealth report, his assets increased 2.9 bln IDR to 8.2 bln IDR over a six year period. Badrodin states that he has provided legal documentation to PPATK explaining the funds.

 

Johan Budi is the former spokesperson for KPK and was recently promoted to the position of Deputy for Corruption Prevention. As spokesperson, he earned the distinction of being the most-quoted man in Indonesia, deftly handling the intense media scrutiny and giving daily updates on KPK’s efforts. Before joining KPK, Johan was a journalist; most recently with Tempo. In 2011 Johan offered to resign from his position due to an accusation of having met with the Treasurer of Demokrat party, Muhammad Nadzarudin.  Abraham Samad refused his resignation and an internal investigation cleared Johan of wrongdoing. The issue resurfaced again on 10 Feb 2015, when a complaint against him was filed with BARESKRIM. Together with former commissioner of KPK, Chandra Hamzah, he was accused of violating article 36 of the KPK law by having direct and indirect contact with Nadzarudin in 2011, before Nadzarudin was named as suspect by KPK.

 

Taufiqurrahman Ruki is the former Chairman of KPK (2003-7) and was was most recently a member of the Supreme Audit Board (BPK). Prior to joining KPK, he was a member of both the MPR and DPR (where he represented the military/police fraction) and served on the working group that developed the legal blueprint for the creation of KPK. Before his political career, he was a police official, retiring at the rank of Inspector General.

It is expected that Taufiqurrahman will focus on re-building the relationship between the KPK and Police.

 

Indriyanto Seno Adji is a professor at the University of Indonesia, focusing on criminal law. He has written on corruption-related issues, including a book on the reversal of burden of proof, a key concept in investigating corruption among government officials. He is the least known of the newly-appointed KPK Commissioners.  He was in the public eye a decade ago as the legal defender of various high-profile clients, including former President Suharto, and allegedly several Bank Century defendants (KPK continues to investigate the Bank Century case). He most recently called for the establishment of an Ethics Commission to look into the (now replaced) KPK Commissioners that were accused of wrongdoing.

 

Information as of 6:30 p.m. WIB, February 18, 2015