TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Ending corruption for the long haul

Corruption seems to be ingrained as a habit, instead of a crime

Faradina Salsabil (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, May 5, 2015

Share This Article

Change Size

Ending corruption for the long haul

C

orruption seems to be ingrained as a habit, instead of a crime. Despite the hard work of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), corruption is still the revered option for many people to feather their nests as well as to preserve their strategic positions.

Ironically, 11.5 percent of Indonesians or 28.28 million people are categorized as poor while many live prosperously with stolen money.

Based on last year'€™s Corruption Perception Index, Indonesia ranked 107th out of 175 countries with high corruption level in the public sector.

The KPK also revealed that for 2014 there were 560 corruption cases with 1,270 suspects, which caused Rp 5.3 trillion (US$407.2 million) in state losses.

Corruptors are not afraid of the law. They already own billions of rupiah, luxury houses and cars. It'€™s all worth it, because in Indonesia corruptors get remissions to cut their prison time.

Their cells have better facilities than the others, because they can afford the bribes. Then they walk free, increasing public distrust in the government.

Corruption is one of the worst extraordinary white-collar crimes and the government should take it seriously. Thus it is urgent to strengthen regulations to eradicate corruption and find new ways to make corruptors wary and make people reluctant to engage in corruption in the future. A few proposals here are worth considering.

First, publish a corruptors'€™ list on a government website. In Malaysia for the past several years, the identities of every corruptor caught and charged have been published by the government on a website providing corruptors'€™ profiles including work experience, corruption history and also the amount of state losses. Corruptors have admitted this public announcement is highly embarrassing.

This method also educates citizens to be more aware of this extraordinary crime. In the long term, citizens should be expected to collectively help to eradicate corruption in a more effective way.

Furthermore, this mechanism is a kind of shock therapy for both corruptors and citizens.

Second, enforce social work as punishment. The idea of putting corruption defendants into a social work role basically has been raised in Indonesia but until today there is no clear regulation and mechanism enabling it.

The social work can range from sweeping main roads, cleaning toilets or taking care of the elderly in nursing homes.

During the social work the corruptor must wear attire with a shocking color and unique design. They should pay for their sins by serving citizens and get an idea of how unfortunate people live, compared to their greedy lives.

The other purpose is also to make citizens see social sanctions in the form of psychological impact for the corruptors as well as the family through the simple penalty of social work in public.

Third, catch corruptors in public spaces. Too many corruption cases remain unsolved, increasing skepticism toward law enforcement.

The government must act bolder. One method is making arrests in public, which could involve cooperation between the KPK and the police.

Making arrests more visible, where possible, would help to make people less worried about reporting corruption cases they know of to the KPK and the police, if they are sure they will be granted protection as part of eradicating corruption. This method will also work as shock therapy for corruptors.

A new mechanism of corruption eradication is definitely needed, and the government could mix and match ideas from other countries. We need a braver KPK and better cooperation with the police, for an Indonesia without corruption.
______________________

The writer works at the Fiscal Policy Agency of the Finance Ministry. The views expressed are her own

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.