In a single month, the Corruption Eradication Commission arrested three regional heads, the regents of Jombang, Ngada and Subang.
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Antara/Muhammad Adimaja
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Resolving corruption completely has become an urgent need, as the arrests of corrupt regional heads will never stop until the main problem is overcome, despite the fact that resolving corruption often falls under the duties of regional heads. The transactional mechanism in selecting regional election candidates with political party backing has also contributed to encouraging regional heads to engage in corruption.
From its 2004 establishment until 2017, the KPK has arrested 80 regional heads, both regents/vice regents and governors/deputy governors. The regional heads were all caught in the KPK\'s sting operations or through developments in the the investigation of corruption cases. Regional heads were involved in a variety of corruption, ranging from buying and selling positions, buying and selling licenses for natural resources management and to misappropriating funds of the BPJS Kesehatan (Health and Social Security Agency), as alleged against East Java’s Jombang Regent Nyono S Wihandoko.
The arrest on Sunday (11/2) of the Ngada Regent Marianus Sae, who is also a candidate for East Nusa Tenggara governor, was made in connection with bribery in a road project in East Nusa Tenggara.
After catching the two incumbents who are contesting the 2018 simultaneous regional elections, the KPK then arrested Subang Regent Imas Aryumningsih of West Java at her official Subang residence on Tuesday evening (13/2).
Imas was arrested for receiving bribes in connection with a building license for two companies, PT ASP and PT PBM, in a factory development project. Several people close to Imas were believed to have collected Rp 1.5 billion in commission on behalf of the regent.
"Part of the money that was received was allegedly used to fund the regent\'s campaign," KPK deputy chairperson Basaria Pandjaitan told a press conference on Wednesday at the KPK’s Jakarta headquarters.
For Subang regency, this arrest is ironic because the previous regent, Ojang Sohandi, was also arrested by the KPK in 2016. Ojang was arrested for bribing prosecutors in a corruption case involving the BPJS Kesehatan\'s 2014 funds for Subang regency. Imas was former the deputy regent of Subang and was sworn in to replace Ojang, who was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Meanwhile, the KPK arrested 14 people until Wednesday evening consisting of Central Lampung Legislative Council members, Central Lampung government officials and private parties.
Thorough management
The thorough management of these cases is needed to overcome the acts of corruption committed by regional heads. All regional heads who were arrested by the KPK had committed corruption allegedly in connection with the regional elections.
Indonesian Institute of Sciences senior researcher Syamsuddin Haris said the regional heads’ arrests indicated that political transactions had taken place in the regional elections process. The direct election of regional heads had become an arena where not only the elite circulated, but also corruptors.
"The higher political dowries and the increasingly expensive political costs of the regional elections are pushing the regional heads toward corruption," he said.
This also proves that the people had not benefited from democracy. "Democracy is still highly procedural and is enjoyed in a limited way among conflict instigators, corrupt politicians, religious radicals and black-market businessmen," said Syamsuddin.
Separately, Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University professor Azyumardi Azra said the high political cost, especially to obtain political party backing in local elections, made the regional heads try to recover their capital for the regional elections. There were those who set a kind of “clearance sale” for natural resources management and project licenses, and other means of collecting funds.
"Political parties must stop the transactional politics and select regional head candidates based on a merit system, not on the basis of their ability to pay expensive dowries," he said.
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Impoverish corruptors
The recent arrests of the three regents show that efforts to eradicate corruption must be more stringent. Legal measures aside from imprisonment, such as seizing corruptors’ wealth to impoverish them, are urgently needed. Law No. 20/2001 on Corruption Crimes must be revised to regulate this matter.
"Those who are proven to be involved in corruption must be impoverished, given community service sentences, made ineligible for remissions and permanently deprived of their political rights," Azyumardi said.
University of Indonesia Law School professor Topo Santoso said that from the criminological perspective, the benefits of a crime must be eliminated so that people would think twice about it. For example, the incomes from corruption must be seized and returned to the state.
