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KPK to offer modest living training, but critics unconvinced corruption culture will fade
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An illustration of illicit wealth. (Courtesy of Pexels) (Pixabay/Courtesy of Pexels)
T
he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), along with the Jakarta administration, plans to offer courses to train civil servants and their spouses in how to live a more modest lifestyle, following recent instances of public officials parading their extravagant lives despite their wealth not matching their official incomes.
Incidents of officials flexing their wealth has not only drawn the ire of many Indonesians on social media but also prompted the KPK to investigate the sources of their wealth.
But critics remain unconvinced that the training program will be an effective solution in stamping out illicit means of gaining wealth among public officials.
“A workshop will not at all be effective,” Zaenur Rohman of Gadjah Mada University’s Center for Anticorruption Studies (Pukat UGM) said on Monday.
Rather than a workshop, Zaenur urged the leaders of state institutions and regional administrations to instead set an example by maintaining strict anticorruption rules within their ranks, including upholding existing ethics codes among civil servants and handing down strict administrative sanctions for those breaching ethics.
“Some think that it’s fine for civil servants to live lavish lives, as long as they earn it fairly. But, bearing in mind the disparity in the country as some are still living under the poverty line […] I don’t think it can be justified,” he added.
Read also: Customs in KPK crosshairs over extravagant lifestyles
