This an extract of a post published by Transparency International.

The decision to dismiss prominent anti-corruption investigators and commissioners will cast a shadow over the independence of Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi), also known as KPK, Transparency International said today. Recent weakening of Indonesia’s main anti-graft body undermines the country’s anti-corruption progress and runs counter to its international commitments.

On Tuesday, more than a thousand of KPK employees took a civil servant’s oath, allowing them to continue serving as the agency’s staff. Excluded from the ceremony were 75 individuals who failed the civic knowledge test last month. Reportedly, 24 of those who had failed the test will undergo further civic education, while 51 have been sacked.

“Among those who failed the test were several senior staff and prominent KPK investigators. Despite public outcry, the KPK’s current leadership have suspended or fired these individuals, which raises serious questions about the future of the agency and the very purpose of the exam,” said Danang Widoyoko, Secretary General of Transparency International Indonesia.

Concerns over the appropriateness of some of the questions have mired the test in controversy and resulted in public calls to disregard the results. Responding to criticism, President Joko Widodo also cautioned against firing the staff who did not pass the exam.

The requirement for KPK staff to undergo an examination to become civil servants follows the 2019 legislative amendments to reform the agency. Other changes have included the introduction of a supervisory board, curtailing KPK’s investigation and prosecutorial powers as well as a requirement for every KPK investigator to carry out their duties under police coordination and supervision.