JakartaPost-Sept 30
Incoming Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) commissioner Johanis Tanak’s plans for “restorative justice” for graft convicts have irked critics, who say it betrays a cavalier attitude toward enforcement, as he prepares to replace a commissioner who narrowly escaped an ethics probe. At his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Johanis told House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs that he would propose the use of restorative justice when prosecuting graft cases. The former prosecutor, who previously worked under the assistant attorney general for civil and state administration, won 38 votes from 53 lawmakers in attendance to win the KPK job. His opponent, auditor I Nyoman Wara, only secured 14 votes from the legislators. Johanis’ remarks were sharply criticized by antigraft activists, with some questioning his understanding of the work that the KPK should be doing. Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Lalola Easter told The Jakarta Post that restorative justice should not be implemented to resolve graft cases, which caused massive losses to the state and were committed by people with access to power and authority. “I don’t think he understands that corruption is categorized as a special crime,” she said on Wednesday. Another corruption analyst, Yuris Rezha Kurniawan of the Gadjah Mada University’s Center for Corruption Studies (UGM-PUKAT) said the comment suggested an attitude toward graft that was unfit for a KPK leader. Johanis was elected to fill a gap in the KPK’s top ranks after former commissioner Lili Pintauli Siregar resigned in July, escaping allegations of ethics violations. Lili was in hot water after she was reported to the KPK’s supervisory board for allegedly accepting gratuities in the form of airfares and a hotel stay to attend the MotoGP Pertamina Grand Prix in Mandalika, West Nusa Tenggara, in March. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2022/09/29/new-kpk-officials-restorative-justice-plan-raises-eyebrows.html.
