KPK Leaderships Term Extension: Constitutional or Political?

The Constitutional Court (MK) granted a judicial review that challenged Article 34 of Law No. 30/2002 on KPK, which stipulated KPK leadership tenure was four years. “The bench granted the applicant’s entire request,” Chief Justice Anwar Usman said on Thursday.

One of the reasons for this decision is to align the tenure of the KPK leaders with that of 12 other non-ministerial state institutions, which is five years. The court argued that a shorter term would create a perception that the KPK was inferior to other institutions. The court decided this article violated the principles of justice, rationality, and non-discrimination and thus violated Article 28D paragraph 1 of the 1945 Constitution.

Vice President Maruf Amin praised the decision, saying it would make the KPK more effective in eradicating corruption. “So that there is a grace period to deal with eradicating corruption,” Ma’ruf Amin said. Commenting on the ruling, Law Expert Feri Amsari of Andalas University said the decision has set a bad precedent as it was granted near the end of the existing KPK leadership’s term “The extension might be tailored to monitor any political-related cases,” he said.