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Jokowi’s administration gets red mark on graft eradication
The country’s progress on graft eradication was stunted by five ministers of Jokowi’s cabinet being named suspects by law enforcers in corruption cases.
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Employees of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) scatter petals and place a mock casket, complete with a floral wreath, at the KPK headquarters in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Sept. 13, 2019, during a protest against the appointment of retired police general Firli Bahuri as the new KPK head for 2019-2023. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
O
ne year before the end of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s presidency, his administration is likely to leave behind one of the worst eras of corruption in the country’s history since the reform, activists have concurred.
The country’s progress on graft eradication was stunted by five ministers of Jokowi’s cabinet being named suspects by law enforcers in corruption cases. The number is likely to increase soon as reports suggest that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named former Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo as a suspect in an alleged graft case in his ministry.
The antigraft body is expected to summon Syahrul on Wednesday to be interrogated.
Months before Syahrul became embroiled in the alleged graft case, Jokowi’s cabinet lost Communications and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate after he was named a suspect by the Attorney General’s Office in a graft case pertaining to the government’s 4G telephony project.
The prosecutors’ indictment later revealed that he was accused of receiving Rp 17.8 billion (US$1.1 million) in kickbacks for the project.
Other members of Jokowi’s cabinet involved in corruption include former Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo, former Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi and former Social Affairs Ministers Juliari Batubara and Idrus Marham, who were convicted in separate cases.
Ministries and state institutions have become home to the second highest number of corruption cases, with 291 cases entangling the institutions since 2014, when Jokowi first came into office, according to data from the KPK as of Oct. 6. Regional administrations sat in the top spot with 499 cases.
