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New law may increase corruption at village level, says expert
A legal expert has warned that the newly passed Law No
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legal expert has warned that the newly passed Law No.6/2014 on villages could give ample room to village officers to engage in corruption, as it provides them with the authority to make decisions independently.
Indonesian Advocates Union (Ikadin) chairman Todung Mulya Lubis said that without clear boundaries on the job descriptions of village officers, the 2014 Village Law could potentially encourage corruption.
'It's probable that the country's villages will have problems as bad as what regencies and municipalities dealt with, in which many officials were brought to justice for allegedly being involved in corruption regarding regional budgets,' he said in a discussion at the Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta (UMY) on Saturday.
'Corruption happens because there's a monopoly of power, which is expanded further with discretionary authority. The 2014 Village Law opens up room for these two corruption-prone practices,' said Todung.
He said among the factors causing excessive corruption in villages were incomplete village administration organs, weaknesses in coordination and monitoring, the absence of a proper financial management system, and the low quality of human resources.
Therefore, the expert added, more efforts were needed to create implementing regulations for the 2014 Village Law.
'Why is it so important for us to create the law's implementing regulations? This is because every village has its own situation and any discrepancy will lead to complaints and failures in the implementation of the law,' said Todung.
UMY School of Law dean Trisno Raharjo said universities played a crucial role in providing assistance for the implementation of the 2014 Village Law so it would not open up space for corruption.
'They should provide assistance not only in the form of village-related extensions but also must be able to be facilitators and advisors to village officers,' he said. (ebf)(++++)
