Former KPK Chairman Busyro Muqoddas Disappointed with Constitutional Court’s Decision to Extend Term of KPK Leadership to Five Years

CNN Indonesia

Friday, 02 Jun 2023 08:25 WIB

Surabaya, CNN Indonesia —

Former Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Busyro Muqoddas said he was disappointed with the Constitutional Court’s decision (MK) which increased the tenure of the KPK leadership from four years to five years.

In addition, the decision immediately applies to the current KPK leadership, so that Firli Bahuri cs has had his term of office extended which should have now entered its fourth year.

According to Busyro, the decision shows that some elements in the Constitutional Court have experienced moral degradation at this time. It also has an institutional impact.

“Unfortunately the Constitutional Court is increasingly experiencing moral degradation in part, but it also has an impact on institutional moral degradation,” said Busyro in Surabaya, East Java, Thursday (1/6).

Busyro said that the Constitutional Court had also shown signs of no longer being independent. One of the indications is the re-election of Anwar Usman as chairman of the Constitutional Court, even though he is the brother-in-law of Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

“The Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court being Pak Jokowi’s brother-in-law, that’s a personal matter. But because he is the Chief Justice, the Judge of the Constitutional Court as well, he should step down,” he said.

According to Busyro, Anwar’s failure to resign from his position at the Constitutional Court, followed by a decision related to the term of office of the KPK leadership, further strengthens the allegation that this state high institution is no longer independent.

“With no retreat [Anwar Usman]and with the Constitutional Court’s decisions as they are today, the Constitutional Court can no longer be independent,” he said.

Previously, regarding his marriage to the president’s sister in March 2022, Anwar Usman had said that it was not a political marriage.

While giving a public lecture at the University of Kupang–as quoted from the MK’s official YouTube account on June 2, 2022– he said the accusations that judged his marriage to Idayati as a political marriage were invalid, because he was not a member of a political party. Apart from that, he continued, Jokowi would end his term of office and would not be able to run again in the 2024 presidential election.

Bureaucratic politics

In addition, Busyro suspects that extending the term of office of Firli Bahuri Cs was done to perpetuate the current bureaucratic politics.

“It cannot be separated from the current direction of bureaucratic politics, and that political direction can be easily seen, there are facts, there is evidence,” he said.

The bureaucratic politics that Busyro meant were efforts to weaken the KPK. This is a series of events and this has occurred starting with the revision of the 2019 KPK Law.

Since then, the chairman of PP Muhammadiyah in the field of law, human rights and public policy believes that the KPK is no longer the same.

“The current KPK, the new law, the KPK is not what it used to be,” he said.

The former KPK, said Busyro, could be included in efforts to prevent corruption, for example in the mining licensing sector.

“There is a background that many people don’t know, that the former KPK was involved in prevention sectors, especially the mining mafia,” he said.

The mining sector, according to Busyro, is the biggest source of income for dirty entrepreneurs and oligarchs.

Risk of abuse of power

Previously, the Civil Society Coalition said that the extension of the term of office of the KPK leadership to five years had opened up the possibility for the anti-corruption agency to abuse power.

They believe that the Constitutional Court’s decision to extend the term of office will only nullify the spirit of anti-corruption in Indonesia, especially ahead of the 2024 general election.

“This extension has the potential to cause the abuse of power by the KPK for certain interests,” he wrote in a civil society news release, Wednesday (31/5).

The extension of the KPK’s term of office refers to the Constitutional Court’s decision to grant it judicial review against Article 29 letter e of Law (UU) Number 19 of 2019 regarding the second amendment to Law Number 30 of 2002 concerning the Corruption Eradication Committee regarding the term of office of the KPK.

They consider that the extension will only open the anti-corruption agency’s access to greater authority.

“Instead of being given a sanction, the Constitutional Court was even awarded a term extension,” he said.

They also see that anti-corruption institutions are often weakened. They then alluded to the dismissal of 57 KPK employees, the revision of the KPK Law, and violations of the code of ethics that were allegedly committed by KPK leaders.

“In the field of anti-corruption, the weakening of the anti-corruption movement has occurred continuously, after the dismissal of 57 employees, the revision of the KPK Law to a series of controversies and ethical violations committed by the KPK leadership,” wrote the coalition.

The Court previously stated that the decision already has legal force and is binding.

“As stipulated in the Constitutional Court Law, the decision is valid and has binding force since it was pronounced in the plenary session for pronouncing the decision,” said MK spokesman Fajar Laksono, Friday (26/5).

Fajar explained the considerations regarding the enforceability of the decision number: 112/PUU-XX/2022 for the current KPK leadership can be seen in the consideration paragraph [3.17] page 117.

There it states: “Taking into account the term of office of the current KPK leadership which will end on December 20, 2023, which is approximately 6 (six) months away, without intending to judge concrete cases, it is important for the Court to immediately decide on the a quo case in order to provide legal certainty and just benefits. . The Constitutional Court hastened to decide on this case so that the decision provides certainty and fair benefits for the applicant in particular and the entire current leadership of the KPK.”

Therefore, Fajar stated that the KPK leadership, who currently serves a term of four years and will end in December 2023, will have their term of office extended for the next one year so that their term of office is even five years in accordance with the Constitutional Court’s decision.

Meanwhile, in a separate place, Menkumham Yasonna H Laoly said the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD would ask for clarification from the Constitutional Court following the decision to extend the term of office of the KPK leadership from four to five years.

This news was conveyed by Menkumham Yasonna Laoly. He said the move would be carried out as a former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court.

“I got information, the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs will ask, because the Coordinating Minister is a former chief justice of the Constitutional Court, will ask the Constitutional Court what this decision means. It is more fair,” said Yasonna at the parliament complex, Jakarta, Wednesday.

Previously, the Constitutional Court’s decision stated that it completely granted the request of KPK deputy chairman Nurul Ghufron. In the end, the term of office of the KPK leadership was reduced to five years. In addition, the current KPK leadership has had their term of office extended for another year.

However, the Court’s decision was not unanimous. Of the nine judges of the Constitutional Court, there were four constitutional judges who expressed different opinions (dissenting opinion).

(frd, pan, thr/kid)