Most House Factions Reject KPK Draft Revision
Ezra Sihite
The majority of the factions at the House of Representatives heard the criticism.
On Wednesday, they rejected the draft revision of the 2002 Law on the Establishment of the Corruption Eradication Commission.
The draft would have stripped the commission (KPK) of its power to conduct wiretapping and prosecuting graft cases. It prompted widespread condemnation.
Analysts and activists suspected that the House is trying to curb the KPK, which has so far convicted dozens of current and former lawmakers for a number of corruption cases.
The draft legislation was first formulated by members of House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs and is tasked with supervising the much respected commission.
The House Legislation Committee (Baleg), tasked with deliberating bills, is deciding on whether to return the proposed revision to Commission III for improvement, but a consensus from all nine factions of the committee is needed before any decision is final.
“I proposed that we members of Baleg withdraw [the bill from deliberation] and return it to Commission III and we shall wait and see if Commission III agrees,” Abdul Malik Haramain said at a Baleg hearing.
The National Awakening Party (PKB) politician said there are issues with the substance of the bill, arguing that it strays far from the original law.
Baleg member Indra, from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), also said that Commission III should revise the draft bill.
“The reform movement clearly prioritizes corruption eradication and we must view corruption as an extraordinary crime,” Indra said. “The prosecutors office and the police have not been effective in performing the task of eradicating corruption.”
The Golkar Party seemed to be the only one at the House not making the same recommendation on Wednesday.
But Golkar legislators have lashed out at their colleagues from the other parties as being hypocrites for appearing to publicly oppose the revision while officially supporting the bid.
Aziz Syamsuddin, deputy chairman of Commission III and a Golkar lawmaker, said on Tuesday that seven of the nine parties initially agreed to amend the law on the KPK. The seven parties included the Democratic Party, which used an anticorruption platform to gain a House majority in 2009.
stjohnofthevatican: 
Catweazle: