The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) recently arrested Khamami, the regent of Mesuji in Lampung. Khamami was the first regent to be arrested by the KPK in 2019.
The Khamami-Saply pair won the Mesuji regional election in March 2017, gaining 77 percent of vote. Khamami allegedly accepted Rp 1.8 billion related to a infrastructure project. He was the third regent in Lampung to be arrested by the KPK. Support for the KPK must be given to investigate corruption in Mesuji.
In 2018, the KPK made 30 arrests. In the raids, 21 regional heads were arrested by the KPK and brought for trial at the corruption court. Khamami’s arrest took place amid public disappointment over the absence of a breakthrough to eradicate corruption.
The presidential candidates’ first debate did not present a new breakthrough for eradicating corruption in this country. Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin offered a system of corruption prevention and to strengthen the KPK. Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno offered to increase the salary of law enforcers and establish a regional KPK.
The anticorruption program of the two candidate pairs is minimal to overcome corruption in Indonesia. There does not appear to be a big vision from the two candidate pairs to eradicate corruption in this country. What actually emerged was the vision of the two candidate pairs on how to gain power on April 17.
We hope that the elected president will immediately issue an executive order to stop corruption. The substance of executive orders can be in the form of reverse burden of proof for all state administrators’ wealth, seizure of assets resulting from corruption, encouraging the revocation of political rights for corruption convicts and ordering all money transfers in certain amounts to use banking channels, and adjusting the Corruption Law with the UN Convention on Corruption.
Data shows in 2018 that 174 House (DPR)/Legislative Council (DPRD) members and 68 regents/mayors and 10 governors were arrested by the KPK. The majority of cases of corruption are related to political parties. To become a regional head and become a member of the DPR/DPRD, of course, requires political party vehicles.
We encourage political parties to contribute to fighting corruption. Political parties must be morally responsible for tidying up their “naughty” cadres, who act disgracefully by enriching themselves. The party’s statement that it would not provide legal assistance or would immediately dismiss the corrupt cadres is not enough. Especially, if public officials or law enforcement are used as the tools to enrich political parties.
Corruption has made the people sick. We hope the national leaders and political parties realize the anger of the people against corruption that impoverishes the people. There needs to be a radical move together to overcome corruption, before corruption makes the country collapse.