Corruption, the Nation’s Biggest Enemy
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Corruption has now become the biggest enemy to the Indonesian nation. At a time when struggles to combat corruption are being carried out, new forms of corruption continue to emerge and are spreading throughout a number of regions. At present, almost no region in Indonesia is free from corruption.
The number of corruption cases investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the prosecutors\' office has continued to increase.
The number of prosecutions of corruption cases by the prosecutors\' office is reported to have reached over 2,000 since 2013.
The number of red-handed arrests made by the KPK has also continued to increase. In 2014 and 2015, the KPK was recorded to have made five red-handed arrests. In 2016 there were 17 red-handed arrests, and this year, as of September, 16 arrests have been made. The latest was an arrest carried out in Cilegon, Banten on Friday.
Cilegon Mayor Tubagus Iman Ariyadi is not the first regional head to be legally processed by the KPK this month. On September 16, the KPK also arrested Batu Mayor, East Java, Eddy Rumpoko, while on September 13 OK Arya Zulkarnain, the regent of Batubara regency, North Sumatera, was arrested.
From the arrests, it has been learned that the forms corruption takes continues to expand. In a bribery case involving the director general of sea transportation at the Transportation Ministry, Antonius Tonny Budiono, the alleged bribe was transferred to an account in the name of the alleged briber, while the official receiving the transferred funds was given only an ATM card to withdraw the funds transferred to the account.
The alleged bribes made to Bengkulu Governor Ridwan Mukti were given in cash to his wife. The Batubara regent used a car dealer to conceal alleged bribe acceptance. The Cilegon Mayor allegedly received bribes through the distribution of social responsibility funds from companies to a football club.
"Corruption has become the biggest enemy of the Indonesian nation. Therefore, it is crucial the Indonesian nation has a sense of urgency. It has to act immediately and make joint steps to combat and eradicate corruption from the country," said KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo.
Culture
Statements describing corruption as the country’s biggest enemy have been made by a number of circles over the past several decades. In 1970, for example, Indonesia\'s first vice president Mohammad Hatta even mentioned that corruption had become a kind of culture in Indonesia.
As reviewed in Kompas on July 8, 1970, such a statement was made by Hatta when he became an advisor to Commission IV, which was established by President Soeharto to fight against corruption. The commission\'s members consisted of Wilopo (former prime minister), IJ Kasimo (former minister), Anwar Tjokroaminoto (chairman of Syarikat Islam Indonesia Party) and Johannes (former rector of Gadjah Mada University).
Previously, in an article entitled "Our Democracy," which was published by Pandji Masjarakat in 1960, and included in a book in 1966, Hatta also said corruption was sparked by the country’s poor political system. Corruption came to Hatta’s attention because of the threat it posed to democracy.
The late renowned Indonesian economist Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, on the sidelines of the congress of the Indonesian Economists Association (ISEI) in Surabaya, East Java, in 1993, mentioned that the leakage level from the development fund in Indonesia at that time had reached 30 percent.
Executive Director of Transparency International Indonesia Dadang Trisasongko has seen that such fund leakages still occur up to the present. "On average, they (corruptors) take a 30 percent portion of the total production costs of a project,” he said.
Similar to the allegation made by Hatta in 1960, according to Dadang, the red-handed arrests of regional heads would continue to happen ahead of the regional head elections in 2018 and the general elections in 2019. If no improvements were made to party systems and general elections, regional heads and politicians would continue to practice corruption.
"Ahead of the regional head elections and the general elections many regional heads and politicians will be arrested by the KPK because bribery and corruption is how they are able to meet the very high political costs," he said.
Decay
Father Franz Magnis-Suseno has said corruption was the real sign of decay experienced by the Indonesian nation. If not eradicated, corruption would bring misfortune to this nation.
Even though corruption has spread widely throughout the country, former chairman of Muhammadiyah Ahmad Syafii Maarif, emphasized that it did not mean Indonesian had to give up on its efforts to combat it.
"There are those who say corruption is a kind of culture, but that does not mean we give up. The most important thing is that law enforcement institutions do not have to fight by themselves. Why don\'t law enforcement institutions unite? In essence, the law enforcement institutions, the KPK and the police, jointly fight against corruption," Maarif said.
In order to realize unity against corruption, Maarif said, dynamics such those between the Inquiry Committee of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the KPK had to be settled immediately. "It is disturbing corruption eradication efforts. The DPR has adopted such a stance because many of its members have been arrested by the KPK. On the other hand, the KPK must also evaluate its procedures. There is an accusation that the KPK is very selective, it has to be improved. On internal issues, the KPK must also be unified," he said.
Agus Rahardjo said that the joint commitment of all elements of the nation to fighting against corruption was a necessity. Real actions must be realized.
Deputy chairman of Commission III of the DPR Mulfachri Harahap said that future corruption handling processes had to synergize the three law enforcement institutions, namely the KPK, police and prosecutors\' office.
He said that corrupt behavior constituted the failure of the political parties in carrying out recruitment, regeneration and political education of prospective party leaders.
(IAN/AGE/REK/MHD)