The smell of competition seems to be being shown by our law enforcers. After officials from the Police were named suspects by the Attorney General's Office, a counter-action also occurred. In fact, said ICW (Indonesia Corruption Watch) Coordinator Almas Sjafrina, law enforcement should be synergistic.
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It can be imagined that if the law enforcers in this country are under one command, fighting and eradicating crime, they will be a frightening specter for those who have and will do evil. If law enforcers synergize, it will be a nightmare for corruptors. And vice versa, if law enforcers are at odds, corruptors clap their hands.
"There is no choice, law enforcement should work together to eradicate corruption, collusion, nepotism and other crimes. "Ideally, our law enforcement is synergistic, working together, not showing strength to each other, but far from the true meaning of anti-corruption or eradicating corruption," he said.
The momentum of the "feud" between law enforcement officials that is now a public spectacle, according to Almas, could be a momentum for cleaning. "So I think on the other hand this is also a big momentum to uncover this case thoroughly and clean the problem in our law enforcement," he said.
The issue of light sentences for corruption perpetrators makes there is no deterrent effect for those concerned and also for the next potential perpetrators. "Not only the sentence is mostly light, but also the imposition of fines and compensation for state losses. So if you look at the prison sentence, then the fine, also related to compensation, it does not seem to be enough to deter," he told Edy Suherli and Bambang Eros and Moch Prayoga Adi Pradana when visiting the VOI Office at Tanah Abang number, July 10, 2026.
Almost every week we are presented with news of corruption eradication carried out by the KPK or the Attorney General's Office. It seems that there is no deterrent effect, the following week there are more officials who are arrested. Why is this?
Honestly, that is also a question of ICW. Why is it that when there is an action, we are often faced with, oh the KPK is doing OTT for example. Or there are parties who are designated as suspects and so on. But it is kind of a recurring event. What is interesting is that the pattern is the same, the background of the suspect or the network is also the same.
"We try to see that there are several factors behind it. And this is not just about the sentence that convicts. If we talk about the sentence, ICW also agrees with the view that the sentence imposed on the suspect in the corruption case is not enough to convict.
Is there any data on this?
If you refer to the data we have collected, ICW releases trends in the prosecution of corruption cases and trends in corruption cases every year. So we collect data on verdicts every year. In 2024, the average sentence for convicted corruption cases was only 3 years and 3 months. But that's an average of thousands of suspects. The heaviest is 16 years and 10 months.
Not only the sentence is mostly light, but also the imposition of fines and compensation for state losses. So if you look at the prison sentence, then the fine, also related to compensation, it does not seem to be enough to punish. This corruption is like a crime that many people hate, but on the other hand it is also more profitable than the loss. That is, if you are caught. If you are caught and then prosecuted, you will only be sentenced. The sentence can be light, it can be heavy.
Are there any corruption cases that have not been touched by our law enforcers?
There, for example, there are officials who are designated as corruption suspects. And from the legal process, it is known that the corruption did not only occur at that time. But the case has been systematically in the institution, it has been years. Well, we believe that the corruption that actually occurs in our country is much greater than what we see in the media, from the number of corruption cases that have been revealed by law enforcement at this time.
So it's like an iceberg phenomenon, right?
Yes, only the top is visible. And this is only from one side, yes, from the issue of sentencing. We have not talked about, for example, the imposition of TPPU, which is still rarely carried out by our law enforcement officers. Then also the revocation of political rights, so on. This is also a threat that can actually be imposed on convicted corruption cases to be more deterrent, but unfortunately it is not yet maximal to be carried out.
Well, another thing that we think is also important for us to discuss when discussing the effectiveness of eradicating corruption is that we at ICW believe that the war against corruption should indeed be a force that is not enough just from law enforcement. But it must also be followed by system changes and strengthening of corruption prevention efforts themselves. Unfortunately, the grand design in its entirety for the prosecution of corruption cases carried out by law enforcement has not been followed by a system improvement that is truly effective in preventing corruption.
Speaking of eradicating corruption, should we imitate other countries, for example China which is very harsh on corruptors?
"We have not found any evidence or one conclusion of a study that has been carried out systematically that shows that the death penalty is effective in fighting corruption, to scare corruptors. And if you look at the corruption perception index, the countries that occupy the top positions are the countries that are in the index are called the cleanest, they do not apply the death penalty.
So when weighing the pros and cons of the death penalty - not to mention, for example, the independence of our law enforcement, the sophistication of our law enforcement, and so on from the aspect of human rights - we see that there are actually still many options for punishment that can convict corruptors compared to implementing the death penalty.
"It's often a topic of discussion in the anti-corruption activist circle, whether corruptors are more afraid of being poor or more afraid of dying. For the matter of making them poor, it's not really tried and implemented. So in my opinion, I think we need to see or strengthen first the issue of giving more deterrent punishment. And then the most important thing according to us is how in the future our system is not friendly to corrupt practices. So we don't keep... law enforcement is like a firefighter, when the condition is indeed there are many fires, there is a lot of corruption.
"So what kind of punishment can be imposed?
"Indeed, what we hope is that the action does not lose its meaning, the punishment must be deterrent, it must be deterrent. Then from the aspect of accountability system, from the aspect of prevention, it also does not give people a very large space or opportunity to commit corruption.
From the various facts that you have revealed, roughly which tendency of implementation makes people deterred?
Maybe a combination of these things. I imagine, for example, if the punishment is not made light, both in terms of imprisonment, then the return of substitute money, so yes. Then also if he is specifically elected officials or officials elected by the public, entrusted by the public to sit as regional heads or for example members of the DPR, members of the DPRD, yes I think it is very appropriate to be sentenced to revocation of political rights. So he can think many times that when he commits corruption, there are very big consequences there.
The punishment can be heavy, his political rights can also be revoked, and this revocation is not forever, there is a time limit. But at least, it is not easy for him to return to the political stage, even to contest in the election. Also about the application of the crime of money laundering, for example. When it is very possible, or from the initial construction of the case it is seen that this is very potentially subject to the crime of money laundering. Regarding the confiscation of assets, yes, although now the law is not complete. We don't have a law on asset confiscation, but we actually have an asset confiscation aspect in legal instruments. There is in the Tipikor Law, then there is also in the TPPU Law.
To become an official in this country, whether it is a member of the Council or a regional leader, it is a very big political cost. Is this a factor of corruption?
First, we agree that there is a problem with our political contestation that requires an extraordinarily high cost. Why is the contestation of elections, whether at the level of the DPRD, DPR RI, regional heads, or even the president and vice president, extraordinarily expensive? We see it yes, because there are many illegal expenditures that then become a factor in the cost of politics becoming more expensive.
"What is an illegal example?
Yes, which is actually not unfamiliar to our ears. For example, the issue of buying and selling votes, dawn attacks, and bribes to organizers. This is not a public assumption, because there have been actions taken against our election organizers. There are a number of cases against election organizers that prove that they are related to the case. Even at the national level, the 2019 election case has not been completed: Harun Masiku. That also shows that there is a problem in our election organizers.
If you are familiar with it, you also buy a boat or nomination buying. It turns out that to be nominated by one or more political parties, it can have a price. This is what makes political costs more expensive. This condition has an impact on regional heads to be more vulnerable to corruption cases. The goal is to return capital or for preparation for the next period.
"The process of screening and screening candidates for elections in political parties must also be questioned. Because if it is broken at that stage, whether our political costs are expensive or can be suppressed, I am sure we will also face the same problem.
What about the Pilkada being indirectly chosen by the DPRD, is this a solution?
I think that would not be a solution either. Not a solution. It still costs a lot. It just shifts the actors, who used to buy the votes of the voters - and the voters are the public - so they buy the representatives of the people.
There are also those who say that corruption can be done by making policies. Does ICW see this?
Yes, we do see that corruption is not only related to things that take money from the state directly or bribes, yes. But it's more complex than that. This corruption is getting here, we have to interpret or define it more broadly that doing corruption can be from the stage of policy formulation.
"There are lobbies there, right?
Yes, even not only in the context of distributing projects, but also smuggling provisions that later open the door to corruption or even legalizing corruption itself. This I think is the challenge of eradicating corruption in the future.
And what is more dangerous is that the policy-making space is increasingly in a closed space. It feels very difficult, especially when, for example, what is discussed is a sensitive law, which is full of public polemics, then we as the public only know when the law is going to be passed, without being followed by meaningful public participation, without transparency.
And then arrogantly said that yes if you don't accept it, please come to the Constitutional Court, do a judicial review. I think this is not a good concept of a country. Because we adhere to democracy in which public participation should not only be interpreted as important in elections.
There is also something that attracts our attention, the Prosecutor's Office and the Police compete with each other. How do you see this in the context of eradicating corruption?
Yes, it seems to be a long-standing problem, which turns out to be unfinished until now, like that. We have not moved anywhere, we are still grappling with these problems. Ideally, our law enforcement officers should be in synergy, work together, not show off their strength but far from the true meaning of anti-corruption or eradication of corruption.
In fact, here it actually further confirms that there is a problem in our law enforcement aspect. If we want to retreat, the KPK was formed because the existing law enforcement at that time, namely the police and the prosecutor's office, had not carried out their role well in the context of prosecuting corruption cases. Then the KPK was born, in which it has the function to carry out supervision and so on.
"This is crucial, right?
Yes, I think this is also another problem and challenge. But precisely related to this problem, if we dream of a cleaner Indonesia from corruption in the future, this is the most crucial problem to be corrected. There is a well-known term from the past, he said, we shouldn't sweep with a dirty broom.
"When it turns out that the broom or law enforcement that sweeps this corruption turns out to have a problem, where we as the public can trust and hope for law enforcement? So, on one side it is very unfortunate, our law enforcement still does not work synergistically to fight corruption. Although on the other hand, I also read the debate on social media, yes, as the public we also benefit from the end of the discovery.
Finally, law enforcement officers are mutually dismantling themselves?
There are even those who hurt the public very much, that is also from the search process, for example, it was found that there were 74 kilograms of gold, then American dollars, Singapore dollars, and rupiah. In total, hundreds of billions yes, the numbers are very, very fantastic. And this makes us wonder, actually, whose money is it, where the source is from.
"The law enforcement officer has his LHKPN, the public will easily check whether the property is in accordance with the profile of his position and legitimate income. So I think on the other hand this is also a big momentum to uncover this case thoroughly and clean-up the problem in our law enforcement.
From the case of the Prosecutor's Office and the Police, there is allegedly a rivalry between law enforcers, how do you see it?
"Yes, as I said earlier, it's kind of a power struggle. There are those who do not accept when, for example, another law enforcement agency takes action on a corruption case against their institution. And this is actually in the history of eradicating corruption in Indonesia is not a new phenomenon. It turns out that this phenomenon has not ended.
Yes, although we don't know for sure what the motive is. If there is indeed corruption, of course ICW demands that the action be taken in a transparent and as competent as possible. So this is not a new phenomenon. If you remember, there was a term cicak versus buaya which had episodes.
How can the president play a role in overcoming this feud between law enforcement officials?
So we see that this is a problem that unfortunately we have not finished to make improvements there. So I think that when we talk about the role of the president, here the role of the president is to ensure that our law enforcement officers are independent and impartial. And also the main orientation is indeed to really eradicate corruption.
Well, maybe here Mr. President can be the conductor to orchestrate everything that exists, right?
Because if we can run it, the loser is the public. When there is corruption in the enforcement aspect, there is also a very big loss. The president who has various programs that must certainly be protected from the threat of corruption, this also has a great interest to ensure that in Indonesia we can still trust the law that is carried out by law enforcement officers.
If we talk about the culture of law enforcement or eradicating corruption, have our educational institutions instilled an anti-corruption culture?
If I were more in agreement, actually, the culture of anti-corruption or the attitude of anti-corruption should be instilled as early as possible, namely in the family environment. The school or education environment is certainly an important environment because at these stages everyone is building their character, yes, building their mindset.
When anti-corruption behavior is instilled in education, I think this will also have a positive contribution in shaping a character that not only rejects corruption, but does not tolerate corrupt behavior around it. However, unfortunately, our education world is also not clean from corruption. Ideally, the school ecosystem, for example, also exemplifies, shows that yes corruption is a reprehensible behavior. Not normalized as it is today.
With this exposure, are you still optimistic that you can minimize corruption in Indonesia?
Yes, if you are pessimistic, ICW has disbanded. Although we admit that the challenges are getting heavier, especially the condition of democracy today also has its own challenges that are getting heavier. We believe that optimism must indeed be maintained, must be cultivated.
And one of the things that makes us more optimistic is that in the midst of various challenges in eradicating corruption and democracy today, if we open social media, there are still many critical citizens who openly express their voices. Although expressing critical voices today is not easy, but it also comes with risks. The risk of being reported, the risk of being doxed, the risk of being ostracized from his environment, and so on.
"But if we open social media today, there are a lot of criticisms to the government or institutions that the public considers to be problematic, for example about MBG. Since the beginning of this program was launched, even when it was not running at first but the budget was rumored, these criticisms have come out. Until now, the program continues to be maintained even though there has been extraordinary corruption involving BGN officials.
Public criticism is still there, it is getting stronger. In fact, we know that some of the parties who deliver criticism also receive threats from various parties. Here I think one of the things that makes us still need to be optimistic is that there are still many people who choose to speak out, who realize that there is a problem, and realize that their role is important. So I think we really need to be optimistic together.
What is ICW's hope for the government, law enforcement, and the community, that this step that has been prepared and carried out can still be implemented?
For the government, that is the most basic thing in my opinion is how the government should position public criticism in the concept of the rule of law and democracy. That public criticism is part of the accountability effort, not part of hatred towards government personnel. Not because there are evil or bad agendas behind this critical voice, so that the government needs to correct itself, and positioning public criticism is an effort to keep today's government from falling into the abyss of corruption and problems that will be even worse in the future.
"Except, for example, the government talks about democracy and talks about the war against corruption, it's just a word. But if it's really a war against corruption, really wants to manage this republic based on public interest, yes, it must also be open to public participation and public criticism. So don't deny and realize that this is a public right guaranteed by the constitution, right. Stop all forms of repression, and also reports that will actually shift our energy, which was full speed to monitor government programs, so it is divided for things that respond to the repressive efforts of the government or its friends.
For the public, what are your expectations?
For the public, we are indeed in a very difficult situation. Even if we talk about the existence of independent state institutions that are post-reform, many of them are formed to maintain government accountability, guarantee the check and balance system, and all sorts of things, it has been weakened. This makes our role more important. Our role is more difficult, but also more important.
So hopefully we can also continue to be collective and creative, yes, to make various efforts to continue to demand our rights, because after all we need to see what is managed by the state, what is spent by the state, yes, the source is from us. So it is right that we want to know, we care, what the tax is spent for, and we should be angry when the process of spending it then occurs corruption. Even in the planning process there is also corruption.
Getting to know Almas Sjafrina, the woman behind the ICW wheelICW Coordinator Almas Sjafrina. (Photo 4: Bambang Eros VOI, DI: Raga Granada VOI)
Almas Sjafrina has not planned to plunge into the anti-corruption world in this country since he was a child. From a regular activist at the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), but his actions have become more meaningful and now have reached the top leadership.
"I am interested in the world of anti-corruption, actually it goes by itself. Because I used to like reading news about politics and law enforcement when I was still studying political science at Airlangga University, Surabaya. Even my thesis is about corruption in our development," he said.
He views this corruption issue as not only interesting, but also important. "Because I find that many public issues have a source in the problem of corruption. When we talk about poverty, for example, yes, poverty is born, among other things, because there is corruption," said the woman who likes to read books, cook, and watch movies.
"We have public policies that in theory should be very well designed by considering the assessment of public needs. But it turns out, continued Almas, it can also be damaged because there is corruption in it.
"So that's what makes me interesting, I'm interested in the world of anti-corruption. Because whatever the problem, it turns out that it will indeed be damaged when there is a corruption problem in it," said Almas, who most often cooks pop chicken, dendeng, and chicken keretek typical of Madura.
Family and Early InspirationSince he was a child, Almas has been instilled with the values of honesty and anti-corruption. "I saw it from my family, from my environment. And the anger itself arises. For example, when we go to school, we see that there is a practice of cheating that happens. For example, cheating, about the attitude of unfairness or unfairness shown by the teacher," he continued.
The bigger he gets, the more he realizes that many wrong practices are being carried out. "Oh this is there, this is actually not allowed. This is a practice that should not be. So actually not formally studying anti-corruption values," said Almas, who likes sports to keep his body weight ideal.
Moreover, he continued, when sitting on the school bench there was no anti-corruption education curriculum. There were also no anti-corruption campaigns for children.
Even so, it was the members of the family who instilled the importance of having an honest character, not cheating. "And it was enough to form when we were faced with the issue of corruption, I was upset, angry, and considered it something unfair," he said.
Campus is Forming MoreFrom Bangkalan, Madura, Almas continued his studies at Airlangga University, Surabaya. "Entering college which also discusses political science, I got materials related to corruption issues, development, and so on. So it adds to the interest in the anti-corruption movement," he said.
When he first joined the ICW, a Commission of the Public for the Investigation of Corruption, he said, it was mainly not on the issue of eradicating corruption, but on the phenomenon of political corruption that occurred in Indonesia.
He knows a lot because his thesis discusses corruption in the political realm in Indonesia. "My thesis raises the theme of the election," he said.
After graduating, there was an opportunity to join ICW. "Yes, I tried to join and continue until now," said Almas, who has been with ICW for more than a decade.
Suka and duka as anti-corruption activists have been felt by Almas. His grief, threats and doxing are things that he and his colleagues often experience. "Even doxing it even carries information about family, home address, and so on. That is something that is often faced in the anti-corruption network including in ICW," he said.
As for her likes, she can voice her anxiety. "Talking about her likes, I have a platform that gives a very large space to voice my anxiety and also meet people who have the same spirit and the same dream," said Almas Sjafrina.
"Because if we can run it, the loser is the public. When there is corruption in the aspect of law enforcement, there is also a very big loss. The president who has various programs that must certainly be guarded from the threat of corruption, this also has a great interest to ensure that in Indonesia we can still trust the law that is carried out by law enforcement,"
Almas Sjafrina
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