TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo is surprised by the controversy surrounding his meeting with the Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) from 2015 to 2019, Agus Rahardjo. Perhaps Jokowi does not understand that his request to the KPK to halt the investigation into alleged corruption over the procurement of electronic ID card (e-KTP) was very dangerous.

This request occurred twice. According to Agus Rahardjo, he was summoned by Jokowi in early August 2017. This means that there was no revision of the KPK Law at that time. Therefore, the KPK was still independent. Hence, the head of the government’s request to stop handling a corruption case is a violation of the law. The KPK was designed to be independent, free from political interests, in dealing with Indonesia’s chronic disease called corruption.

Jokowi denies meeting Agus, let alone intervening in the case. If two people meet but one denies the encounter, we know someone is lying. The question is, who is lying in the KPK intervention?

In this week’s Tempo English magazine edition, we verified who lied based on many sources and delved into the context surrounding the handling of the e-KTP corruption case. This case involves Setya Novanto, the Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) who led the Golkar Party. In the lead-up to the 2019 elections, Jokowi needed Golkar’s support as the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) had always rejected him.

From the accounts of many sources, you can draw conclusions about who is lying in the KPK intervention meeting: Jokowi or Agus Rahardjo.

In this edition, we also present other interesting articles, such as the fractured coalition of presidential candidate teams. Even before being elected, they are already competing for power and are not united in supporting their respective party’s presidential candidate.

There is also a story about the Supreme Audit Agency’s (BPK) discovery of problems in Freeport Indonesia’s smelter project and how the company managed to avoid paying fines for being late in finishing the construction of the smelter.

Enjoy the magazine.

Bagja Hidayat

Executive Editor

Jokowi’s Interventions in KPK

President Joko Widodo ordered Agus Rahardjo to stop the investigation into the e-KTP corruption case. He allegedly often interferes with KPK duties.

KPK after the Revision of the KPK Law

The Corruption Eradication Commission is no longer independent ever since it became part of the executive body. The fruit of the revised KPK Law.

Rohingya Refugees Refusal

For the sake of humanity, the Indonesian government must not be hypocritical or wash its hands of the Rohingya refugees.

Interview with Carlos Nobre on the Results of COP28

Brazilian Earth System Scientist, Carlos Nobre, said COP28 failed to come up with solutions for the Earth’s temperature that exceeded 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.