In the recent weeks, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was urged to accelerate the formation of the Selection Committee who would be responsible for making recommendations for the new KPK leaders. Civil Society Organisations, including ICW, demanded that the President announce the names of the Selection Committee.

The demand for the creation of the Selection Committee was raised to ensure that the President would seriously assess the track records of all the Selection Committee candidates. The Civil Society Organisations demanded that the President not repeat the same mistake in making a decision as it will bring serious negative impact to the existence of KPK. At the time, the President was expected to select the final candidates who support the anti-corruption movement and come from non-partisan backgrounds.

On May 19, there was a rumour that the President had already selected twelve individuals for the Selection Committee. The twelve supposed individuals were: Saldi Isra, Zainal Arifin Mochtar, Jimly Asshidiqie, Tumpak Panggabean Hatorangan, Refly Harun, Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, Oegroseno, Romli Atmasasmita, Margarito Kamis, Chairul Huda, Imam Prasodjo, and Abdullah Hehamahua.

The rumour stirred up protest from Civil Society Organisations as three names among the twelve (Romli, Chairul and Margarito) were expert witnesses for Police General Budi Gunawan in his pre-trial case against KPK. At that time, Gunawan objected to be named as a suspect by KPK on a bribery and gratuity case.
http://nasional.tempo.co/read/news/2015/05/19/063667317/KPK-Bahas-Permintaan-Telusuri-Rekam-Jejak-Pansel

As the result of the protest, on May 21, Romli Atmasasmita, an expert in criminal law from Padjajaran University, reported Emerson Yuntho, Adnan Topan Husodo, and Said Zainal Abidin to the Criminal Investigation Agency of the National Police (BARESKRIM) for alleged defamation charges. The report was based on statements made by the three mentioned individuals. The first allegation is based on Emerson’s argument that Romli does not have an ideal track record to be a Selection Committee member. The second allegation is based on Adnan’s statement that questions Romli’s integrity since he was an expert witness for Budi Gunawan. The third allegation is based on the statement from Zainal who said that Romli is supporting corruptors since he was an expert witness in Budi Gunawan’s trial.
http://nasional.kompas.com/read/2015/05/21/19260801/Aktivis.ICW.hingga.Eks.Penasihat.KPK.Dilaporkan.ke.Polisi

The reported allegations by Romli has lengthened the list of criminalized anti-corruption activists. As previously known, Bambang Widjojanto (KPK’s inactive Commissioner), Abraham Samad (KPK’s inactive Chairman), Novel Baswedan (KPK’s investigator), Denny Indrayana (former Deputy Minister of Ministry of Law and Human Rights), Feri Amsari (Lecture of University of Andalas), and Charles Simabura (Lecture of University of Andalas) were all reported to the National Police.

The pros and cons of the rumored Selection Committee member ended when President Jokowi officially announced the names that were not on the rumored list. The names of the Selection Committee are:

1. Destry Damayanti (economist, expert in finance and monetary): Chairwoman

2. Enny Nurbaningsih (expert in constitutional law, head of national legal development): Deputy Chairwoman

3. Harkristuti Haskrisnowo (expert in criminal law)

4. Betti Alisjahbana (expert in IT)

5. Yenti Ganarsih (expert in criminal law)

6. Supra Wimbarti (psychologist)

7. Natalia Subagyo (expert in public administration)

8. Diani Sadiawati (law expert)

9. Meuthia Ganie-Rochman (sociologist)

The Selection Committee list received positive response from the public because the named individuals are seen as people who are capable of supporting the corruption eradication agenda. http://nasional.kompas.com/read/2015/05/21/12420871/Latar.Belakang.Pansel.KPK.yang.Beragam.Dianggap.Mewakili.Kebutuhan.KPK