TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Analysis: Corruption watchdog puts Jokowi's reputation in jeopardy
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo speaks with the media after the departure ceremony of the National Disaster Management Agency's (BNPB) mission to deliver humanitarian aid, 60 tonnes of medical and hygiene supplies on two planes, to Egypt for Palestinian refugees and Sudan at Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in Jakarta on April 3, 2024. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
T
he widely accepted perception of former president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as a clean figure has begun to crumble after the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) nominated him as the 2024 Most Corrupt Person of the Year. Jokowi joined other world leaders known for their corruption track records in the “hall of shame”, with the humiliating title going to the deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Jokowi and his supporters have fended off the nomination, highlighting the absence of evidence linking him to acts of corruption. Critics, however, argue that corruption extends beyond financial crime to include abuse of power, which Jokowi allegedly committed to help his defense minister Prabowo Subianto and eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka win the 2024 presidential race.
The OCCRP announced on Dec. 31, 2024 the list of the nominees for the most corrupt person title, which also included Kenyan President William Ruto, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian business tycoon Gautam Adani.
Jokowi described the nomination as “slander, malicious framing and baseless accusations,” a sentiment echoed by his supporters. The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), chaired by Jokowi’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep, called the nomination “a reflection of the voices of the bitterly disappointed.” The PSI also questioned the OCCRP’s methodology, saying it was flawed and unreliable.
Many of Jokowi’s supporters maintain that the former president unlawfully enriched neither himself nor others, describing the nomination as unfounded. They cite Jokowi’s high public trust ratings at the end of his tenure as evidence of his clean image.
However, democracy activists argue that Jokowi’s nomination was warranted, pointing to his maneuvering to undermine the constitution, state institutions and Indonesian democracy, especially at the end of his term. They highlighted the Constitutional Court’s controversial ruling in 2023, which cleared the way for Gibran to run for vice president alongside Prabowo. Critics suspect Jokowi’s influence through his brother-in-law, the then Constitutional Court chief justice Anwar Usman, in the decision.
Jokowi was also blamed for the weakening of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which is now under the control of the president.
