Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Commemoration of World Anti-Corruption Day 2021 in Jakarta, Thursday 9 December 2021

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Peace and prosperity be upon us all,

Om Swastiastu,

Namo Buddhaya,

Greetings of virtue.

Distinguished Chairperson of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and all the Commissioners of the KPK, as well as the KPK’s big family;

Distinguished Ministers of the Indonesia Onward Cabinet,

Distinguished Chairperson and Members of the KPK Supervisory Board;

Honorable Governors, Regents, and Mayors, as well as Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda).

Honorable anti-corruption activists;

Ladies and Gentlemen.

We realize that corruption is an extraordinary crime that has an extraordinary impact. In eradicating it, we need new, more extraordinary methods.

If we look at the number of cases handled by law enforcement officers, the number is also extraordinary. In January to November 2021, the Indonesian National Police (Polri) have investigated 1,032 corruption cases and the Attorney General’s Office has investigated 1,486 corruption cases. Meanwhile, the KPK has also solved many cases of corruption, as previously stated by the Chairperson of KPK.

Several major corruption cases have also been taken care of in serious manner. In Jiwasraya case, for example, the convicts have been thrown into prison by the Prosecutor’s Office and two of them have been sentenced to life imprisonment, and up to Rp18 trillion have been confiscated for the state. Seven defendants in ASABRI case were prosecuted—ranging from 10 years in prison to the death penalty—and compensation for state losses reaching tens of trillions of rupiah. In completing the BLBI case, the BLBI Task Force is also working hard to recover state rights which is worth up to Rp110 trillion and fighting hard so no obligors and debtors can escape their obligations to return BLBI funds.

Nevertheless, law enforcement officials, including the KPK, should not be complacent yet since the public opinion on our efforts to eradicate corruption is still rated not good. We all need to be aware of this.

In a national survey in November 2021, the public places corruption eradication as the second problem that needs to be resolved immediately. The job creation is ranked in the first place, this is what the people desires, reaching 37.3 percent. The second is corruption eradication which reached 15.2 percent. And the third place is the price of basic staple, reaching 10.6 percent.

And if we comprehend all the three, corruption can be the basis of other problems. Corruption can disrupt job creation and cause the price of basic staple to rise. The survey also shows that people who rate the current corruption eradication efforts as ‘good’ and those who rate it as ‘bad’ are in a balanced proportion; 32.8 percent of people rated the efforts as ‘very good’ and ‘good’, 28.6 percent of people rated the efforts as ‘moderate’, and 34.3 percent of people rated the efforts as ‘bad’ and ‘very bad’.

Moreover, if we compare ourselves with ASEAN neighboring countries, we also need to improve our 2020 Corruption Perception Index rank. Singapore is ranked 3^rd; Brunei Darussalam is ranked 35^th. This is in Asia, not Southeast Asia. This is from 180 countries in Asia. Once again, Singapore is ranked 3^rd, Brunei Darussalam is ranked 35^th, Malaysia is ranked 57^th, while Indonesia is ranked 102^nd. We need to work hard to improve our corruption perception index.

However, we have an encouraging development. According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the Anti-Corruption Behavior Index in the public continues to rise and improve. In 2019 it was at 3.7 percent, in 2020 at 3.84 percent, in 2021 at 3.88 percent. It means we are getting better every year.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Looking at these facts, we need new, more extraordinary methods. We must continue to improve and perfect the methods of eradicating corruption. We should not only prosecute the one that has gone viral. However, we need more fundamental, basic, and comprehensive efforts that directly benefit the people.

It is very important to take firm and indiscriminate action. Not only to provide a deterrent effect to perpetrators and to those who do, but enforcement is also very important to save state money and restore state losses. We must prioritize asset recovery and increase in non-tax state revenue (PNBP) to save and restore state finances and take corruption prevention measures in the first place.

I express my appreciation to law enforcement officers for asset recovery and increase in the PNBP. In the first semester of 2021, the Attorney General’s Office managed to restore state losses from handling corruption cases of around Rp15 trillion. And earlier, a larger amount that has been returned to the state through the agency was also reported by the Chairperson of KPK.

In this regard, the Government continues to push for the enactment of Criminal Act of Asset-forfeiture Law. We hope that next year, God willing, this will also be accomplished so we can realize a professional, transparent, and accountable law enforcement and improve people’s welfare.

I also urge the KPK and the Attorney General’s Office to impose the Countermeasure and Eradication of Money Laundering (TPPU) Law in order to ensure strict criminal sanctions, and most importantly, to restore state financial losses.

We also have embarked on international collaborations for the return of assets from criminal offenses, including the agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters that has been agreed with Switzerland and Russia. The two countries are ready to assist Indonesia in tracing, freezing, and confiscating assets resulting from criminal offenses abroad. Therefore, fugitive corruption perpetrators can be pursued, be it in at home or abroad. Hidden assets by the mafia, port mafia, oil and gas mafia, drug mafia, meat mafia, land mafia, can continue to be traced and the perpetrators can be brought to justice.

The public is waiting for tangible results of corruption eradication so that the impacts can be directly felt by the people through simple and accessible public services system, abundant jobs opportunities, and affordable price of basic necessities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Eradication of corruption should not always be synonymous with arrests. Eradication of corruption must fix the root of problem. Prevention is a more fundamental step. And if we succeed in preventing corruption, the interests of the people will be saved.

We must make use of public support in eradicating corruption. Cultivating an anti-corruption culture from an early age is an important part of corruption eradication. Building self-awareness is the key to anti-corruption mindset.

The establishment of anti-corruption ecosystem has a major impact on investment and job creation. Investment is still the driving force of our economy and our investment target in 2022 is Rp1,200 trillion. This requires simple, faster, and corruption-free licensing. Do not let investors give up because there are too many illegal levies and uncertainties.

We must create faster and more efficient services system without charging any special fees. We must use technology for digitization, standardization, and transparency. We must strengthen the implementation of an integrated case handling system, improve the integrity of law enforcement officers. That way, we hope we can narrow down the gaps in abuse of authority and corrupt behavior.

That concludes my remark on this auspicious occasion.

I thank you.

Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. (GWH/LW)