Analysis | Under the Jokowi government, corruption still haunts Indonesia
- Indonesia’s anti-graft agency was established in 2003 as a direct result of the corruption-infested regime of the late president Suharto
- Some two decades later, a law change is throwing the Jokowi administration’s commitment to anti-corruption efforts in doubt, activists say
The other is an Indonesian businessman who fled the country in 2009, one day before the country’s Supreme Court convicted him for his role in embezzling tens of millions of dollars in state bailout funds for banks – but who somehow came back into the country unhindered earlier this year.
Some might see this as a glass half-full as one is in custody, but in Indonesia, given decades of endemic corruption among its powerful political, military and business elite and futile efforts to stop it, it’s an empty glass, according to analysts.
Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer – last conducted in 2017 – found 65 per cent of Indonesians surveyed said they felt corruption had increased at that time, second only to China (73 per cent) in the Asia-Pacific region.
In Transparency International’s 2019 Corruption Perception Index survey – the latest available – Indonesia ranked 85th out of 180 countries and territories, below Morocco, Burkina Faso and Guyana.
I’m very concerned about the government’s anti-corruption commitment
“With the integrity and professionalism of the police force and Attorney General’s Office as they are now, I’m very concerned about the government’s anti-corruption commitment,” said Natalia Soebagjo, a senior member of Transparency International Indonesia and former chairwoman of its executive board.
