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Plan to increase state funding for political parties brings calls for caution
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A motorist drives past political party flags on Jan. 12, 2024, ahead of the general election in Jakarta. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
A
proposal to increase state funding for political parties to curb corruption in the country’s executive and legislative branches is gaining support among politicians, but experts warn that it will only work if the parties also commit to greater transparency and clean governance.
The proposal resurfaced recently after Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chair Fitroh Rohcayanto linked rampant corruption to politicians’ reliance on outside funding to finance costly election campaigns, which often compels them to repay donors through rigged programs once they are in office.
He said the commission has repeatedly recommended increasing state funding for political parties, but the government has yet to fully act because of budget concerns.
Most political parties have since backed the KPK’s proposal, with some politicians, such as Ahmad Muzani, the secretary-general of President Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra party, going even further by suggesting a tenfold increase in funding.
Under the current arrangement, as laid out in a 2018 government regulation, parties in the national legislature annually receive Rp 1,000 (US 6 cent) for each vote they won in the previous legislative election.
This means that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the biggest party in the House of Representatives, receives Rp 25 billion ($1.5 million) per year, while the two smallest parties, the Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN), receive around Rp 10 billion annually.
House Speaker Puan Maharani of the PDI-P, however, urged caution, as she questioned whether the government has the fiscal capacity to finance such a significant increase.
