Jokowi in the hot seat after backtracking
experts slam president’s inability to revoke graft law revision
Experts and activists slam Indonesia’s president after he cancels plan to revoke KPK law amendment.
JAKARTA: Legal experts and antigraft activists have condemned what they describe as President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s lack of political will to revoke the controversial revision of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law, describing his recent statement as merely an excuse to proceed with the implementation of the law.
Jokowi has appeared to backtrack on a statement he made in late September about issuing a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to revoke the amended KPK Law in a bid to appease protesters who claimed the amendment could weaken the antigraft body.
As protests died down, Jokowi said on Friday that it would not be proper to issue a Perppu while the law was still being reviewed in the Constitutional Court (MK).
“There is a judicial review process in the courts. Don’t let [the Perppu] overlap with another legal process. I think we should mind our manners,” he said at the State Palace.
There are currently three petitions for a judicial review of the new KPK Law, one filed by 190 university students; another by students of As-Syafi’iyah Islamic University’s master’s in law program along with several advocates; and the last by advocate Gregorius Yonathan Deowikaputra, all of which are still in their early stages.
The first two groups are challenging several controversial articles in the law and the drafting of the law, while Gregorius has only challenged the drafting of the law.
Transparency International Indonesia (TII) secretary-general Dadang Trisasongko said there was no correlation between the issuance of the Perppu and the judicial review, suggesting that the former would not hinder any legal process.
“All the President needs is political will. If the President is truly committed to restoring the KPK’s authority and accountability, then the President can issue the Perppu without having to wait for the legal processes at the MK to finish,” he said on Saturday.