Unmet Hopes

The performance of Taufiequrachman Ruki as acting chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) this past year has fallen far short of his initial commitment to strengthen the institution. Until the end of the year, when he will have completed his assignment, Ruki, who was the KPK's first chairman, has in fact managed to do quite the opposite. He has succeeded in weakening it.

His persistence in pushing for a revision of the KPK law is a case in point. The initiative to amend the legislation came from the House of Representatives (DPR), which for a long time had wanted to undermine the KPK's powers, particularly with regards to wiretapping. So far, the KPK has been able to tap phones without requiring a court approval. Should the revision pass, investigators will only be able to do so if they can submit evidence to a judge that a crime has been committed. This subjective criterion is bound to blunt the KPK's effectiveness. Up to now, many major corruption cases have been exposed through information acquired from wiretaps.