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KPK Law may hinder Indonesia’s performance in corruption perception index
The index ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and surveys.
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Under investigation: The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) seals the working room of General Elections Commission (KPU) member Wahyu Setiawan following a search on Jan. 9. Under the new law, KPK investigators need the approval of the KPK Supervisory Council before making arrests and conducting wiretapping and searches, which many say is a setback for corruption eradication. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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ndonesia has made improvements in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Transparency International Indonesia (TTI) has announced, but the country would struggle to maintain the momentum in the face of the new Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law.
The index ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and surveys.
Indonesia achieved a score of 40 out of 100 in 2019, a 2-point increase from 38 in the previous year. The new score puts the country on par with Burkina Faso, Guyana, Lesotho, Trinidad and Tobago and Kuwait, which also achieved a score of 40 in the index.
Indonesia ranks 85 out of 180 countries, a significant jump from 89 in 2018.
TII general secretary Dadang Trisasongko noted that the index assessed the opinions of Indonesian respondents — comprising experts and businesspeople — in October 2019 or in the same month when the controversial KPK Law took into effect.
Therefore, the index might not clearly capture the respondents’ sentiments toward the law, which has stripped several authorities that once made the KPK a superior law enforcement agency in the country.
Dadang suggested that Indonesia would barely make progress in the 2020 index if the controversial law remained.
