Making It Unfair And Unobjective Is The Reason The KPK Prohibits Officials From Receiving Gratuities

Deputy Chairman of the KPK Nurul Ghufron/DOK PHOTO: Wardhany Tsa Tsia-VOI

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Nurul Ghufron said state officials should not accept gratuities. The reason is that receiving gifts from other people will make them unable to be objective and fair when making decisions.

"Gratification will give birth to objectivity and injustice. That's why, what is the legal interest of our republic forbidding gratification," said Ghufron in a discussion entitled Gratification Control Webinar: Removing the Roots of Corruption and giving appreciation to the 2021 Gratification reporter which was broadcast on the KPK RI YouTube, Tuesday, November 30.

For that reason, Ghufron emphasized that the KPK continues to remind officials to refuse gifts from other parties.

"We need to avoid this. Usually, when someone wants to be loved, they always give gifts, buy chocolates, give orchids, roses, and deposit interest rates. If there is a change in deposit interest, what should be fair objective then changes its objectivity," he said.

Moreover, the prohibition of receiving gratuities by state officials has been regulated in Article 12B of Law Number 31 of 1999. Those who violate, said Ghufron, can be subject to sanctions.

However, the sanctions can be avoided by state officials if they report to the KPK after receiving gratuities. Ghufron said officials were given 30 working days to submit their receipts.

"A gratuity is considered a bribe if it is not reported for 30 working days. But if it is later 30 working days because you get something good at home or wherever you report it, the status will be lost," he said.

Even so, the KPK admits that this reporting is often problematic due to technical problems. To facilitate reporting, the KPK has an application for whistleblowers.

After the report is received, the KPK will later analyze whether the gift was a bribe or pure gratification. "If it is a bribe, then we will determine it as a gratuity which is seized by the state and the proceeds will be deposited with the state," explained Ghufron.

As for the number of gratuities reporting from January 2015 to September 2021, it has reached 7,709 of which 6,310 are designated as state-owned objects. "Meanwhile, the value when cashed is IDR 171 billion," he said.

Although the figure is already quite high, Ghufron said this does not mean that corrupt behavior will no longer occur. Moreover, many officials who report gratuities in small amounts but large ones are not reported.

"This is also a phenomenon and hopefully once again gratification must become an awareness that every state administrator must be free to accept something in providing public services," he concluded.