Indonesia Needs To Reduce Political Income Traps To Release Middle Income Traps

Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) senior economist Didin S Damanhuri. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) senior economist Didin S Damanhuri said that Indonesia must be able to reduce political costs. This reduction needs to be taken if Indonesia wants to become a developed country and does not want to be trapped in a middle-income trap.

"I think that if Indonesia wants to avoid this, it must do the elite courage of this country to carry out economic reform and political reform," he said at the Indef 2023 initial record event, Thursday, January 5.

Didin said, political reform can be done by simplifying campaign procedures, eliminating various modes of giving political dowries and various forms of political corruption in every determination of candidates in the general election, both presidential, legislative and regional elections.

"In addition, it also provides heavy witnesses, not only legal, financial, political, and social," he said.

Furthermore, Didin said these efforts could be made through a revision of the Election Law (UU), as well as other laws that could create the proliferation of economic and political oligarchs.

"The consequences of the Election Law, Political Law and other laws must be revised and essentially prohibit donations to political parties and those who enter are financed by the state budget. This has happened and has succeeded in Germany," he said.

Meanwhile, the issue of economic reform, said Didin, can be done by reducing economic costs. One of them is by determining the increasingly massive e-procurement in each province and canupaten/city.

In addition, said Didin, the government must also strengthen the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) by giving authority such as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in order to conduct wiretapping for hand arrest operations.

"This includes strengthening its judicial process to eradicate various forms of cartel mafia (oligopoli-oligoponi organized), rent-seeking and economic corruption," he said.