Nurfika Osman

Thousands Rally Against Corruption in Jakarta

More than 3,000 people gathered at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on Sunday to show their support for the embattled Corruption Eradication Commission.

The event was an expression of a desire to rid the country of graft, said Agam Faturrochman, the head of Cicak Community.

Cicak, which stands for “Cinta Indonesia, Cinta KPK” (Love Indonesia, Love KPK) and also means gecko in Indonesian, was the derogatory term coined by police official Susno Duadji to refer to the commission after he found out he had been wiretapped by the agency in the PT Bank Century case.

“This is an expression to combat corruption and to show that as common citizens, we are not blind to this issue,” Agam said.

The demonstrators, most of whom are among the more than one million people who have signed up as fans of the KPK on social network Facebook, were entertained by Slank, Oppie Andaresta, Once Dewa, Efek Rumah Kaca and Netral.

“I am a musician and also a citizen who wants corruption to be eliminated from the country,” Oppie said. “Corruption is making all people live in poverty. This event shows that people are fighting for justice.”

The demonstrators sang “Cicak Cicak Di Dinding” (Cicak on the Wall) and “Cicak di Dadaku” (Cicak on My Chest) to show support.

Teten Masduki, secretary general of Transparency International Indonesia, said the event showed the puclic’s true feelings. “This is an angry expression from the community as they support the KPK,” Teten said. “It also means that they want the president to be more serious in dealing with the issue.”