President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo inaugurated former prosecutor Johanis Tanak as the new deputy chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday, replacing commissioner Lili Pintauli Siregar, who was removed from office over ethics violations.

Johanis, who previously worked under the assistant attorney general for civil and state administration, was selected as KPK commissioner in September following a House of Representatives confirmation hearing.

He won 38 of the 53 lawmakers’ votes on House Commission III overseeing legal affairs to win the KPK job. His opponent, auditor I Nyoman Wara, won 14 votes.

Speaking after his inauguration, Johanis said he would carry out his role according to regulations and would steer clear of creating controversies.

"If I say that I will implement existing laws, that means I won't do anything untoward," Johanis told reporters.

Johanis’ plans for “restorative justice” for graft convicts created controversy after his confirmation hearing, with critics saying it betrayed a cavalier attitude toward enforcement as he prepared to replace a commissioner who had narrowly escaped an ethics probe.

Johanis' predecessor, Lili, was at the center of a controversy earlier this year after she was reported to the KPK Supervisory Board (Dewas KPK) for allegedly accepting gratuities in the form of hotel stays and flight tickets to attend the MotoGP’s Pertamina Grand Prix in Mandalika, West Nusa Tenggara, in March.

The board confirmed in April that it had received a report alleging that Lili had violated the commission’s code of ethics. It also opened an investigation into the matter and interviewed Pertamina president director Nicke Widyawati the same month.

Source:
courtesy of THE JAKARTA POST

by News Desk (The Jakarta Post)

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