It is not easy to deal with corrupt political circles. Doing so requires a strong, persistent, and consistent KPK.
By
Azyumardi Azra
·5 minutes read
Kompas/P Raditya Mahendra Yasa
A framed poster on the “Commitment to Integrity” for gubernatorial candidates is displayed on a wall at the Central Java General Election Commission (KPU) on Wednesday (10/1). The commitment includes a promise not to commit corruption and to contest the election transparently without engaging in money politics.
From 2017 to the beginning of 2018, eight regional leaders have been processed by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for corruption. The last regional head to be netted in a sting operation was Central Hulu Sungai Regent Abdul Latif of South Kalimantan, who was arrested on Friday (5/1). This adds to the list of 33 regional heads (governors and regents/mayors) who were involved in corruption cases under the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla administration.
As heads of regions and private parties are frequently being ensnared in sting operations, the public is growing pessimistic that corruption can be eradicated from Indonesian lands. The regional heads seem to be "unafraid" of facing legal consequences.
Because of the many corrupt regional heads, it was understandable for KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo to warn that the 2018 regional elections, which will be held simultaneously in 171 regions, should result in corruption-free regional leaders. In order for this to occur, election candidates must have clean track records, free of legal faults. In an effort to prevent corruption, the KPK and the National Police are ready to form a Money Politics Task Force.
However, seeing the series of regional heads that have been involved in corruption, both the warning and the hope seem futile. Realizing the hope is intertwined with the various factors that affect the behavior of each regional head.
The pandemic corruption makes Indonesian democracy a flawed democracy.
One of the pertinent factors that cause public officials to become involved in corruption is a political process and practice that it difficult for them to maintain their integrity; it tends to destroy their integrity.
A political process that forces many holders of public positions, which are attained through elected regional heads, can be said to be corrupt politics. Aspiring politicians in the regional elections are not only powerless in facing this corrupt politics; not infrequently, they also participate in broadening the already widespread practices of corrupt politics. Corrupt politics is politics that is contaminated or tainted by corruptive decisions, steps and actions that harm electoral constituents and the public. Corrupt politics is at the root of distorted decisions and government policies, thereby pushing away welfare development even further.
The pandemic corruption makes Indonesian democracy a flawed democracy. Indonesia can claim to be the third largest democratic country in the world after India and the United States; it can also claim to be the democratic country with the largest Muslim population in the world, where no problem exists between Islam and democracy. Islam in this country is compatible with democracy.
However, to repeat, Indonesian democracy is not a flawless democracy. On the contrary, after nearly two decades since its establishment, the Indonesian democratic processes and practices contain a defect that cannot be repaired, unless there is a strong desire from all parties.
The funding of political parties depends heavily on contributions from members who are public officials.
Using the criteria of The Economist Intelligence Unit, a flawless democracy – or full democracy – is a democracy where political and civilian freedom is respected and fully guaranteed, based on a political culture that is conducive to strengthening democracy. Then, a full democracy also covers the criteria that the government functions effectively and satisfactorily; the media is independent and diverse. Moreover, it must have an independent judiciary that upholds its decisions and an effective system of checks and balances.
Among these various criteria, the defect in Indonesian democracy mainly concerns the fact that the political culture is yet to develop in harmony with democracy. This is closely related to political parties and the elite, which tend to be oligarchic and deny internal differences, so that they frequently end up divided. Such a political culture then creates unhealthy political parties that cannot grow as modern political organizations with sound management and finance.
The funding of political parties depends heavily on contributions from members who are public officials. Then, there is funding from the state budget (APBN) and regional budget (APBD), determined by the votes garnered in the legislative elections. Apparently, there are also contributions (often called "dowries") from candidates who are competing in the regional or general elections. It is possible, however, that fthe funds from these sources are not too significant.
It is not easy to deal with corrupt political circles.
It is no longer that secret, bigger sources of money come from "donors" with many business and political interests. The donors generally come from the business world and enter the political parties, both at the central and regional levels. These donors also enter through the candidates who contest the regional or general elections. The donors become political "investors", because many candidates do not have sufficient funds to finance the political process of the regional elections, which continue to be very expensive.
The involvement of donors, or political investors, makes the political process vulnerable to manipulation. Not infrequently, these political investors have their fingers in several pies, providing "contributions" to a number of candidate pairs. As a result, whichever pair wins, the investor still has a foot in the government.
This is the kind of transactional politics that exists at the fundamental root of corrupt politics, which immediately raises political corruption. In politics that is increasingly moving farther away from the ideological, and is pragmatic and opportunistic, transactional politics cannot do anything but grow.
Kompas/Idha Saraswati Wahyu Sejati
Azyumardi Azra
As disclosed by Donatella della Porta and Alberto Vannucci in Corrupt Exchanges: Actors, Resources, and Mechanism of Political Corruption (2017), transactional politics involves various forms of "exchange". These exchanges, which give rise to corruption, do not only involve money (resources), but also a circle of actors and brokers as well as a complicated and hidden mechanism.
It is not easy to deal with corrupt political circles. Doing so requires a strong, persistent, and consistent KPK. The KPK needs the full support of other law enforcement agencies, namely the National Police, prosecutors and the judiciary.
Moreover, realigning the political process is also callef for – whether direct regional elections are needed or elections through the provincial/city legislative councils. No less important is reforming the political culture, along with strengthening parties and candidates for public office in terms of financial issues and integrity.
