Prabowo Subianto's Ideas For Corruptors Are Proof That The Government Is Not Serious In Combating Corruption

The trial of reading the verdict of the panel of judges was related to the alleged corruption case of Antam's gold sale and purchase at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Friday (27/12/2024). (ANTARA/Agatha Olivia Victoria)

JAKARTA The words of President Prabowo Subianto who intends to forgive corruptors on the condition that they return state losses have made many people surprised. This idea, said Firdaus Cahyadi, founder of Indonesian Climate Justice Literacy, is a form of error in the way of thinking in eradicating corruption.

"Hi corruptors or who feel they have stolen from the people, if you return what you stole, maybe we forgive," Prabowo said on December 18.

"But return the door. Later we will give it a chance to return it, it can be secretly so it doesn't get caught," he added.

There was no detailed explanation from Prabowo on how his plan was to forgive people who were convicted of corruption. What is clear, this idea made many people shake their heads.

Seeing the negative reaction of the public, Prabowo's right hand in the cabinet gave further explanation. Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights (HAM), Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra. He said Prabowo's proposal to forgive corruptors as long as they return state losses is part of the amnesty.

As head of government as well as head of state, according to Yusril Prabowo has the authority to grant amnesty and abolition to a total of 44,000 criminal acts, including corruption. Before granting amnesty and abolition, Prabowo will also ask the DPR for consideration first, in accordance with the constitutional mandate.

"The president has several powers related to what he said in Egypt regarding the handling of corruption cases, namely the authority to grant amnesty and abolition of any criminal act by prioritizing the interests of the nation and state," said Yusril in a written statement on December 19.

Yusril considered Prabowo's statement to be an illustration of the change in the philosophy of punishment in the implementation of the national Criminal Code which will be implemented in early 2026. Yusril said that the enforcement of corruption cases no longer emphasizes revenge and a deterrent effect on perpetrators, but emphasizes corrective, restorative, and rehabilitative justice.

"If only the perpetrators are imprisoned, but the assets resulting from corruption will still be controlled or stored abroad without being returned to the state, then law enforcement like that will not have many benefits for economic development and improving people's welfare," he said.

The founder of Indonesia Climate Justice Literacy, Firdaus Cahyadi, did not understand this discourse. According to him, the plan to apologize to corruptors not only provides a sign of the government's lack of seriousness in eradicating corruption, but will also widen opportunities for corruption in the natural resource sector (SDA).

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) recorded 791 corruption cases throughout 2023, with a total of 1,695 suspects. Diky Anandya, ICW researcher, said this number increased significantly compared to the previous year's 579 cases with 1,396 suspects.

However, the potential state losses in 2023 are still below 2022. In 2022, the potential state losses returned will reach IDR 42.7 trillion, but in 2023 it will only be IDR 28.4 trillion. However, according to ICW's glasses, the potential loss to the state is still very large.

Every year there are increasing corruption cases. In 2019, ICW recorded 271 cases of corruption with 580 suspects and a potential state loss of IDR 8.4 trillion.

In 2020 there were 444 corruption cases with 875 suspects and a potential state loss of Rp. 18.6 trillion, then in 2021 there were 533 cases with 1,173 suspects and a potential state loss of Rp. 29.4 trillion.

Talking about corruption, not only about material losses. Corruption has resulted in slowing the country's economic growth, decreasing investment, increasing poverty and increasing income inequality. Corruption can also reduce the level of happiness of people in a country.

Seeing what Prabowo said about apologizing to corruptors on condition that he returned state money, according to Firdaus Cahyadi, the president was too narrow in seeing corruption.

The loss from acts of corruption is not just the loss of state money. Corruption in the SDA sector, for example, the loss is also in the form of natural damage and increasing social conflict. If then corruptors in the SDA sector are forgiven just because they have returned money, then what about the destruction of nature and the social conflict they left behind? " said Firdaus in the statement received by VOI.

The plan to apologize to corruptors also strengthens the suspicion that the direction of development in the Prabowo era is based on an extractive economy, which has the potential to damage nature and cause many human rights violations.

Firdaus said that extractive economic-based development in terms of ecology and social Affairs has the potential to make political and economic elites use illegal methods to crash or even change existing rules.

The extractive economic-based development, continued Firdaus, is disguised by using narrow nationalism jargon, such as food self-sufficiency, energy and continuing downstream critical minerals such as nickel.

"Food self-sufficiency whose implementation in the field is afood estate project, has the potential to destroy spatial planning will have a negative impact on the environment. Likewise, self-sufficiency projects are based on biofuels, geothermal and coal," he said.

For this reason, he encouraged the public to start speaking out against Prabowo's idea of apologizing to corruptors.

"The public must start reminding political elites that it is the people who hold the highest political sovereignty. A president is just a servant who is paid the people's tax money so that his policies do not deserve to harm the interests of the people," he concluded.