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Politicians, private businesspeople main actors of corruption, study reveals
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Disgraced -- City councillor Mohamd Sanusi is escorted by Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officers after being interrogated on April 1. He was allegedly caught red-handed accepting unlawful gifts from a private property company to facilitate the smooth passage of bylaws. (Kompas.com/Kristianto Purnomo)
A study has revealed that the majority of corruption perpetrators in Indonesia are politicians and private businesspeople.
“Politicians and private businesspeople have committed corruption collectively through the arrangement of laws and regional regulations,” University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) School of Economics researcher Rimawan Pradiptyo said about the results of his study.
Although many private businesspeople had been proven guilty of corruption, there were no laws regulating corruption perpetrators from the private sector, he went on.
“Laws only regulate corruption involving politicians and civil servants,” said Rimawan.
The study’s results and data from UGM’s economic science laboratory show that during the period of 2001-2015, the number of corruption convicts, comprising politicians (legislators and regional heads) and private businesspeople, reached 1,420 people, with total state losses amounting to Rp 50.1 trillion (US$3.79 billion). Meanwhile, 1,115 corruption convicts were civil servants.
Rimawan said the funds returned to the state were small compared to state losses.
Citing an example, Rimawan said a corruption case in Bantul regency involving 12 convicts with state losses amounting to Rp 16.3 billion only saw Rp.4.2 billion returned to the state.
He further said that in Denpasar, Bali, a corruption case involving 21 convicts with state losses of Rp 71.5 billion only saw Rp 1 billion returned to the state.
Rimawan said Greater Jakarta and Sumatra were among the most corrupt areas in Indonesia. The study found that Rp 121.3 trillion, 94.08 percent of Rp 195.14 trillion worth of state losses were incurred in corruption cases in Greater Jakarta and Sumatra.
Concerning the condition, Rimawan said Indonesia’s corruption eradication strategy must be reoriented.
“In principle, corruption starts from a conspiracy between politicians and private businesspeople during the arrangement of laws and regional regulations,” he said.
Rimawan further said there also should be a revision to Law No.20/2001 on corruption eradication, in which articles on corruption crimes perpetrated by private businesspeople and corruption practices among private institutions must be included. (ebf)
