President Urged to Evaluate National Legislation Program

MEDIA INDONESIA 9/10 Page 2, -- The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) believes, President will not revise the KPK Law. But President should prove his commitment.

The polemic on the discourse to revise the Law no, 30 of 2001 on KPK continues. Those who rejected the discourse ask President Joko Widodo to stop the revision by conducting evaluation of the Draft Law in the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) 2015 and 5-year Prolegnas.

According to Miko Ginting, the legal observer of the Center for Law and Policy Study (PSHK), if President is really committed not to revise the KPK Law, President must take the action.(conducting evaluation).

President or government representative is requested to meet with the People’s Representative Council (DPR) to schedule the evaluation of Prolegnas. “The government should tell the DPR that the government would not be willing to do the deliberation of KPK Law with DPR, “Ginting said yesterday.

Another PSHK observer, Ronald Rofiandri argued, the Prolegnas evaluation could be done by sendingan official  letter to the DPR. Moreover, the Draft Law that came with several articles many considered weakening the KPK had been circulating. “Although President Jokowi had stated before that he would keep supporting KPK that there would be no revision of KPK Law, President should prove it by sending an official letter to DPR to stop the deliberation, “Rofiandri said.

But the DPR Vice Chairman, Fahri Hamzah said, DPR would send the letter regarding the revision plan it was trying to push into the Prolegnas Priority of 2015. “Since the government has yet to issue official statement, we’ll send the letter to the President. If President says no, we will never bring the issue back.“

According to Hamzah, several DPR members wanted to revise the KPK Law because they thought the Law needed to be fixed. For example, the issue regarding KPK investigators and the suspect status of KPK leaders that had led to long debates.

According to Arwani Thomafi, vice secretary-general of the United Development Party (PPP) Central Executive Board (DPP), people should not generalize that those who signed agree with all or part of the KPK Draft Law.

Not yet final
Reporters asked the National Police Chief, General Badrodin Haiti, regarding the KPK Law revision plan, including the suggestion that the working period of KPK should be limited to 12 years since the KPK Law was enacted. “It’s just the proposal so far, it hasn’t been deliberated. We’ll see about it later. It’s not final yet, it can be discussed, “General Haiti said.

Haiti was reluctant to respond to the question that if the Draft Law was passed into Law, then the Police and Prosecutor’s Office would handle all corruption cases. He asserted, the Police was an institution that carried out the Law.

KPK Acting Vice Chairman, Indriyanto Seno Adji, believes that President will not revise KPK Law. “President, through the Minister of State Secretary, Pratikno, has confirmed that he rejects the revision, “Seno Adji said.  But if the revision was still done, the KPK would take legal action to stop it. Yuddy Chrisnandi, minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform reaffirmed the President’s commitment that KPK Law did not need revision.