
IO, Jakarta – The rampant spread of corruption crime in Indonesia has changed little over the years. Transparency International Indonesia (Transparansi Internasional Indonesia – “TII”) research reports that Indonesia’s Corruption Index (Indeks Persepsi Korupsi – “IPK”) score is 38 percent. In fact, Indonesia’s IPK in 2016 and 2017 was stuck at 37. Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi – “KPK”) data per January 2019 points out that 107 regional heads have been convicted for involvement in KPK since its establishment in 2002. During the same period, a total of 72 members of the House of Representative (DPR) have been convicted for the same issue, and until November 2018 a total of 24 deviant judges were convicted as well.
Naturally, this means that the fight against corruption must be expanded and deepened. Corrupt practices can be found at all levels, whether in the Executive, Legislative, or Judicial powers, as well as among private parties.
Therefore, President Joko Widodo has repeatedly stated that he proposes to strengthen corruption prevention functions through the Corruption Prevention National Strategy (Strategi Nasional Pencegahan Korupsi – “STRANAS-PK”) Program. The Program is based on Presidential Regulation Number 54 of 2018 concerning Corruption Prevention. It focuses more on corruption prevention in the Government’s priority sectors, such as Commerce Permits and Administration, State Finance, and Law Enforcement and Bureaucratic Reforms. It also emphasizes synergy and collaboration between KPK corruption prevention efforts and efforts in ministries, agencies and regional governments, which have been performed separately so far.
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) considers that STRANAS-PK has not yet been properly implemented as of 2019. ICW does however approve of the program as a good concept. ICW researcher Tama S. Langkun announced this conclusion along with the results of ICW joint research with a number of civil community organizations in seven cities, i.e. Surabaya, Malang, Pekanbaru, Makassar, Banda Aceh, Jember, and Jakarta. “The concept is actually quite good, but the problem is in the implementation. When we talk about implementation, the onus should not be on the National Team only. It must be divided among regional teams,” Tama said in a public seminar held in KPK’s ACLC Building on Tuesday (24/09/2019).
Currently, KPK’s Prevention Division collaborates with 34 provincial governments, which oversee 542 regency and municipal governments. The Commission encourages various improvements with this effort, starting from reorganizing governance (including planning, budgeting, permit issuance, procurement of goods and services administration systems) to strengthening the participation of the Government’s Internal Monitoring Apparatus (Aparat Pengawasan Intern Pemerintah – “APIP”). It also seeks to optimize regional tax income. This is perfectly possible, as in 2017 alone, KPK has succeeded in saving IDR 2.67 trillion of State funds from corruption through preventive efforts.
Preventative steps are necessary to complement the punitive actions so far taken by law enforcement. It is impossible to eradicate corruption if we negate the effectiveness of corruption prevention.
In order to monitor the implementation of the STRANAS PK 2019-2010, ICW cooperates with civil community organizations, i.e. the HR Study and Development Agency of the Nahdatul Ulama (NU) and other partners in four provinces (Aceh, Riau, East Java, and DKI Jakarta) and six cities and one regency (Surabaya, Malang, Pekanbaru, Makassar, and Banda Aceh and the Regency of Jember) to develop monitoring instruments for this purpose.
A study of 10 regions shows that all of them already have specific regulations concerning the establishment of Goods and Services Procurement Work Units (Unit Kerja Pengadaan Barang dan Jasa – “UKPBJ”). These regulations vary in form: there are Gubernatorial Regulations, Mayor’s Regulations, and Regent’s Regulations. There are many challenges faced in the effort, most prominently the lack of human resources. Many regions are still having trouble in getting members for UKPBJ. This is a natural consequence of the establishment, which would naturally require additional personnel to fill in the organizational structure. “This is regrettable, as it is already the ninth month of the year. STRANAS planning by now should have all regions establish all UKPBJs, but many regions still don’t have them,” Tama said.
Another major challenge is restricted use of information technology. The modernization of goods and service procurement requires HR capable of exploiting computerized systems. There is great resistance in the establishment of the relevant institutions, as some offices prefer to procure necessary goods and services by themselves. State Apparatus are not interested in taking procurement functional positions, as there is a high legal risk (criminalization) to face. Finally, the public finds it difficult to access information concerning the establishment of UKPBJs.
“Our findings show two primary issues concerning State finances, specifically concerning the procurement of goods and services. In the first year, there are still many issues to resolve in the implementation of the STRANAS PK.
Most of these are related to the procurement of goods and services and to the improvement of an integrated governance of justice. STRANAS PK is now gradually implemented for procurement – there are regional initiatives for them, even though there are still HR issues and the capacity to operate computerized systems. The two regions that have optimized implementation of STRANAS concept are DKI Jakarta and Malang,” Tama said.
ICW recommends that the people should be given access for the ongoing processes, specifically at regional government and regional law enforcement levels. The Government needs to seek solutions relating to regional level needs. It should also resolve insufficiency of budgeting and staff, and build the capacity of the technical operators of the technologies used.
There must also be resolution of user and community complaints concerning the implementation of STRANAS PK, and of implementing reward and punishment mechanisms. “We need to appreciate regional governments and law enforcement for having implemented STRANAS PK properly. We need to ensure that both supervisors and executors implement STRANAS PK optimally,” Tama said. (Dan)