On the same day President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s statement on overwhelmed power at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was published, a state auditor team appeared at the graft body’s office. The Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) chief Didi Widiyadi and his team came to the commission’s office at around 2 p.m. Wednesday, and directly entered the building. Around 30 minutes later Didi, accompanied by KPK deputy chairman Bibit Samad Rianto, met with the journalists and explained his intentions. “I came here with a team to carry out the 2008 government regulation on internal control system. We came here to carry out a comprehensive audit related to the KPK’s performance and financial reports.” He added the team would also carry out technology and technical audit on KPK’s authority for wiretapping. “We will cooperate with the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology [BPPT] and Communication and Information Ministry for the technology and technical audit.” On Thursday, Kompas daily news published statements by Yudhoyono on the KPK’s extraordinary power. “In regard to the KPK, I have really given a warning that power must not go unchecked. This KPK already has extraordinary power. It seems its responsibility is only to God,” he told Kompas editorial staff when visiting the newspaper Wednesday. “Even though there is no written order from the President, we can assume his published statement is an early warning, and as a president’s aide we consider that an order,” the BPKP chief said. Bibit said the audit was only to check whether the KPK had implemented its duty according to the 2002 law on the Corruption Commission. “We positively welcome this audit.” Yudhoyono’s comment on the KPK immediately drew harsh criticism from anti-graft activists, expressing fear the President would find ways to reduce the KPK’s authority. The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) legal researcher Febri Diansyah questioned Yudhoyono’s commitment to corruption eradication efforts, saying his administration’s success in fighting corruption had the KPK to thank. “Yudhoyono’s statement sounds like a person who want to eliminate the KPK’s existence. We really regret his statement.” Febri added Yudhoyono was supposed to focus on fixing and cleaning up the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), which many people considered had failed in eradicating corruption, which then became the basis for the establishment of the KPK. “The good or bad performance of the AGO is a reflection of Yudhoyono’s performance in eradicating corruption.” Another anti-graft activist, Fahmi Badoh, said Yudhoyono’s statement was rooted in his lack of understanding of the KPK’s function. “I think it is very unprofessional for Yudhoyono to issue such a statement regarding the KPK. Personally, I truly regret his statement and feel very offended by it.”
Author: hdt, The Jakarta Post
Author: hdt, The Jakarta Post
