In April, an unknown assailant threw acid in the face of a Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) senior investigator, Novel Baswedan, as he walked home from morning prayers. It was the latest in a string of violent attacks on KPK staff and commissioners and followed several major rounds of conflict between the KPK and the police, famously characterised as battles of the “gecko versus the crocodile”. Novel had been investigating the massive Rp 2.3 trillion (AU$230 million) electronic identity card (e-KTP) corruption case, which is believed to be the largest graft case in Indonesia’s history and has implicated senior government officials and politicians. Weeks after this attack, Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) exercised it right to trigger an inquiry (hak angket) into the KPK.
What triggered the inquiry? What are the implications for the KPK and its role in the fight against corruption in Indonesia? In this week’s podcast, host Jemma Purdey explores these questions with Deasy Simandjuntak, visiting researcher at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.
In 2017, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Jemma Purdey from Monash University, Dr Dave McRae from the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute, Dr Charlotte Setijadi from the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, and Dr Dirk Tomsa from La Trobe University.
Look out for a new Talking Indonesia podcast every fortnight. Catch up on previous episodes here, subscribe via iTunes or listen via your favourite podcasting app.
