Though human rights activist Bambang Widjojanto was considered the favourite for the KPK chair, the House of Representatives ultimately selected Abraham over both Bambang and the incumbent Muhammad Busyro Muqoddas; Abraham received a total of 43 votes, out of the 56 possible, while Busyro received five, Bambang received four, and Zulkairnain received three, and Adnan Pandu Praja received one. At the time of his election, Abraham was the youngest ever head of the KPK. Abraham said that he would work to improve the country’s witness protection programme, improve cooperation between law enforcement agencies, and take steps to prevent – rather than merely react to – corruption.

Abraham received a bachelor of law degree from Hasanuddin University; he later received his master’s and doctoral degrees from the same institution, the latter in 2010. After receiving his bachelor’s, Abraham began practising law two years later. He later founded the Anti-Corruption Committee of South Sulawesi, serving as its coordinator. The Jakarta Post describes Abraham as close to several conservative Islamic groups, including the Committee to Uphold Islamic Sharia, for which he acted as a lawyer.

Abraham Samad (born 27 November 1966) is an Indonesian lawyer and activist who was elected in December 2011 as chair of the country’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for period 2011-2015.

Abraham was born on 27 November 1966 in Makassar, South Sulawesi. He and his five siblings were the children of an army captain and his wife Indriana Kartika, an employee of the Department of Information; as of 2012 three of his siblings work for the state television station TVRI while his brother Imran is a district head in Rappocini, Makassar. According to Imran, as a child Abraham was hard-headed and forceful when he wanted something.