The commissioners of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) requested that the undergoing review process by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights on the Draft Government Regulation concerning the financial rights of KPK commissioners to be halted.
Such request was conveyed by KPK acting spokesperson Ali Fikri on Friday (3/4) in Jakarta. “This has to be done to reflect KPK’s stance so that we can all focus on the Covid-19 pandemic management. We also understand that in the current situation, there are many other matters that demand more attention,” he said.
One of KPK’s concerns in the acceleration of Covid-19 outbreak handling is related to the use of the allocated budget for the procurement of goods and services (PBJ), focusing on the prevention of corruption.
Previously, the proposal concerning the financial rights of Commissioners under the amendment to the Government Regulation No. 82/2015 has been submitted to the government through the Ministry of Law and Human Rights by the former commissioners on 15 July 2019. One of the considerations was the equality with the leaders of other state institutions, such as the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court.
“Around September, KPK asked an external party to do a review in order to maintain objectivity, including by still considering the equality with the wage of officials in other institutions," said Ali.
Following the proposal, a discussion was held on February 2020 at the invitation of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. KPK, represented by the Legal Division and the Human Resources (HR) Division, held discussions with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights regarding the proposed Draft Government Regulation, which was then included in the legislation program of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights which will be further discussed.
On early March 2020, prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights invited KPK, the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform, the Ministry of State Secretariat, and the Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs to discuss the proposed draft. Since it had been included in the Legislation Program of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the discussion had to be continued.
In responding to the current situation, however, the commissioners of KPK have agreed to request the discussion to be halted and asked all parties to focus on working together to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak.
KPK asked that the Ministry of Law and Human Rights can halt the process considering that there is a more pressing humanitarian aspect that requires attention and cooperation from all elements of the nation.
“We are open to input and criticism from the public, especially related to how to meet the expectations of the society for KPK to remain consistent in eradicating corruption. We will give our best in our work," Ali concluded.
