Not a Police Station in Kuningan

December 19, 2024 | 05:02 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Sahbirin Noor corruption case once again exposes conflict of interest within the KPK. It shows how outside forces continue to pull strings.

THE messy entanglement within the ranks of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in the way it is handling the case of former South Kalimantan Govenor, Sahbirin Noor, increasingly reveals how unprofessional the agency is, and just how far it has lost its independence. The KPK leaders are inept in face of their subordinates who look to be working for the interests of outside forces.

In October 2024, the KPK declared Sahbirin a suspect for alleged bribery and gratification. He was accused of accepting five percent of commissions from several infrastructure projects in his region. Sahbirin submitted a pre-trial suit to the South Jakarta District Court. The result was, lone judge Afrizal Hady decided Sahbirin’s status as suspect as unqualified, pointing out he had not been questioned prior to being labeled a suspect.

From the outset, investigation into Sahbirin’s suspected corruption has been a messy tangle. The KPK did not implement enforced procedure, despite this uncle of businessman Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, alias Haji Isam, repeatedly disregarding summons for interrogation. The KPK seemed to have provided a procedural leeway for not anticipating that Sahbirin would file a pre-trial suit. The South Jakarta District Court in the past has set free several KPK corruption suspects, particularly persons with clout. These include, for instance, Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, and Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, alias Eddy Hiariej when he was Deputy Minister of Justice and Human Rights.

After the announcement of Sahbirin’s pre-trial court decision, conflicts of interest became even more pronounced. The KPK leaders and investigators seeking to continue the investigation by re-conducting scrutiny procedures were contested by other ‘factions’ within the anticorruption agency. Those against came from the Deputy for Enforcement and Execution level, particularly the Director of Prosecution Bima Suprayoga and the Director of Preliminary Investigation Brig. G-en. Endar Priantoro.

This is not the first time internal conflicts of interest have clashed within the structure of the anti-corruption body. The KPK leaders supported by the investigators entered into hard confrontation with members of the Deputy for Enforcement and Execution, the majority of whom originate from the policeforce. A similar conflict emerged during the effort to reinstate Eddy Hiariej as a suspect. Again, the same thing occurred in the corruption case involving Regent of Sidoarjo, East Java, Muhdlor Ali, during the 2024 presidential election. Both cases then closed up with no warning.

After the revision of the KPK Law, which placed the body firmly within the executive in 2019, the KPK is no longer independent. Outside interventions and interests come to the fore during any handling of corruption cases. The heavy hand of the police is always strikingly evident in these interventions, particularly in cases involving persons with clout.

This condition continues to eat away at KPK’s credibility. A study conducted by Indikator Politik Indonesia released in October 2024 showed that public trust towards the KPK now hovers at just 61 percent. KPK’s classification is currently in the lowest third. Prior, when the body was still relatively independent, the KPK enjoyed high levels of public trust, especially for its success in bringing down various big cases of corruption.

The Commission is currently undergoing a change in leadership. The KPK leaders tenure for the 2019-2024 period is almost at its end. The new leadership, with Comr. Gen. Setyo Budiyanto at its helm, faces potentially even worse intervention in the upcoming five years. Even though most of its investigators originate from the police force, it is only fitting the members are made aware that the initials KPK do not stand for “Kantor Polisi Kuningan,” or Kuningan Police Station—Kuningan being the name of the vicinity where the anti-corruption commission is located in South Jakarta.

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