Jakarta
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo is just one of a number of ministers and former ministers who have been embroiled in graft cases since the fall of the corrupt-ridden New Order regime in 1998. Edhy’s arrest by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), however, has only proven that Cabinet ministers, especially from political parties, are susceptible to graft, hence the old mantra “power tends to corrupt”. Over the past 20 years, eight active and former ministers have been found guilty of graft and only two have no links with political parties. During the term of then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2004-2014, three active ministers, two from his own Democratic Party, were arrested by the KPK and later convicted. The KPK brought to justice two more active ministers from the Golkar Party and National Awakening Party during the first term of...