Indonesian antigraft official resigns amid row with police

JAKARTA, Indonesia – A top Indonesian anti-corruption official tendered his resignation Monday, January 26, after being arrested amid an escalating row with the police, and warned of a campaign to “destroy” the country’s powerful graft-fighting agency.

Bambang Widjojanto, deputy chief of the Corruption Eradication Commssion (KPK), was arrested on Friday, a week after the KPK accused a senior police official, Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, of graft, prompting his appointment as national police chief to be postponed. (READ: Indonesia’s political crisis deepens with arrest of antigraft official)

KPK’s supporters have accused the police, regarded as deeply corrupt, of seeking revenge against the anti-graft commission, which is popular among the public but has made many enemies after years targeting high-profile figures.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo nominated Budi – a former adjutant of the president’s political patron Megawati Sukarnoputri – to be the new police chief, and has been criticized for not doing enough to resolve the growing conflict between the two law enforcement institutions. (READ: #WhereAreYouJokowi: President steers clear of police-KPK conflict)

‘Fabrication’

Announcing that he would step aside temporarily due to the police investigation into accusations he instructed a witness to lie on the stand in a 2010 election dispute, Bambang urged the public to keep up their strong support for graft-fighting efforts.

“I am convinced that the case against me is a fabrication and based on fiction,” he told reporters. “It’s not only to weaken the KPK, but to destroy it, and in a very systematic way.” (READ: Bambang Widjojanto resmi mengundurkan diri)

The heads of the KPK and the president must still accept his resignation.

His arrest on Friday sparked protests throughout the weekend by hundreds of anti-corruption activists in Jakarta and smaller ones in key cities throughout the country and even overseas. (READ: Aksi damai #SaveKPK dan protes ‘rakyat nggak jelas’)

Online and offline, Indonesians urged Jokowi to take action to defend the agency. The hashtag #SaveKPK trended for two days in Indonesia and even worldwide briefly on Friday. 

Police say Bambang could face 7 years in prison if found guilty.

‘Systematic’ efforts

Despite the public’s show of support for KPK, more police complaints we filed against other KPK leaders over the weekend in what activists have decried as a systematic attempt to weaken the powerful antigraft agency.

KPK deputy chairman Adnan Pandu Praja was reported on Saturday over allegedly manipulating the shares in 2006 of timber company PT Desy Timber, which he was the corporate lawyer for at the time. Another deputy, Zulkarnain, allegedly received a IDR5 billion bribe to stop an investigation in 2008 when he was a prosecutor. And finally, a report has been filed against KPK chairman Abraham Samad alleging he offered to help PDI-P politician Emir Moeis, who in April 2014 was jailed for receiving kickbacks from Alstom. (READ: Pimpinan KPK di pusaran kasus pidana)

In the wake of harsh criticisms he isn’t doing enough to address the growing conflict between the National Police and the KPK, Jokowi late on Sunday announced the creation of an independent team to tackle the crisis.

Consisting of legal experts and former police and KPK officials, the team has been tasked with evaluating the leaders of the two institutions, including the controversial police chief nominee.

Jokowi marks his 100th day in office on Tuesday with praise for bold economic reforms at the start of his term, but with his man-of-the-people image hit by criticisms of his commitment to human rights and fighting corruption. – with reports from Lina and Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com