When Eradicating Corruption To Poverty Alleviation In President Jokowi's Government Receives A Red Report Card

President Joko Widodo (Photo: Twitter @jokowi)

JAKARTA - The administrations of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Vice President Ma'ruf Amin received red reports in the field of eradicating corruption to poverty. This unfavorable result was obtained from the results of the poll conducted by Indopol Survey and Consulting which was held from 19-27 November.

"The Jokowi-Ma'ruf Amin government's red report card in the eyes of the public in terms of eradicating corruption, handling unemployment and poverty," said Indopol Executive Director Ratno Sulistiyanto, quoted from his written statement, Jakarta, Monday, December 13.

Despite receiving red reports in the three areas, Ratno said the government still received positive appreciation in five respects. First, related to maintaining religious tolerance. Next is the availability of fuel and electricity. Third, in terms of handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fourth, appreciation is given by the community for good public services. Finally, public appreciation arises because the Jokowi-Ma'ruf Amin government has built a lot of infrastructure such as roads, bridges, clean water, and various other infrastructures.

President Jokowi actually understands that efforts to eradicate corruption are currently not considered good by the public. He even conveyed this when he opened the commemoration of World Anti-Corruption Day (Hakordia) 2021 on Thursday, December 9.

At that time, the former Governor of DKI Jakarta appreciated but also asked law enforcement officers who deal with corruption issues not to be satisfied with their work.

"Law enforcement officials, including the KPK, once again should not be complacent because the public's assessment of efforts to eradicate corruption is still not considered good. We all must be aware of this," said Jokowi in his remarks, Thursday, December 9.

Furthermore, Jokowi acknowledged that Indonesia's Corruption Perception Index (GPA) in 2020 was inferior to neighboring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. Thus, improvements need to be made in order to catch up with the three countries.

"Compared to neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, we still need to improve our Corruption Perception Index in 2020," said the former governor of DKI Jakarta.

"Singapore is in third place. Brunei Darussalam is ranked 35. This is in Asia out of 180 countries. Singapore, once again, is in third place, Brunei (Darussalam, ed) is ranked 35, Malaysia is ranked 57, and Indonesia is still ranked 102. We need our hard work to improve the Corruption Perception Index," Jokowi added.

Not only that, he also reminded that the eradication of corruption must be intensified because of the massive attention from the public. According to Jokowi, the problem of corruption is the second thing that must be resolved based on the results of a poll of a national survey agency.

While the first rank is about job creation and the third is the price of basic necessities.

Jokowi may ask law enforcement officials not to be complacent because efforts to eradicate corruption are still considered not good. However, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Kurnia Ramadhana said the president should look in the mirror and realize the reasons behind the inadequate efforts to eradicate corruption in the country.

According to him, the absence of firmness from the head of state in law enforcement, especially related to corruption, has made efforts to eradicate it not optimal. In fact, ICW said that Jokowi often made sweet promises in this effort.

"People can judge that the President often only makes sweet promises to eradicate corruption," Kurnia said in her statement to reporters, Friday, December 10.

One of the statements that received attention from Kurnia was regarding the Bill on Asset Confiscation to be promulgated no later than next year. According to him, what Jokowi said is not in accordance with reality so it can be considered as a mere sweet promise.

"For example, the President in his Hakordia speech yesterday pushed for the Bill on Asset Confiscation to be promulgated next year. For ICW, this statement does not correspond to today's reality," he said.

So, instead of asking law enforcement officials to work optimally, Kurnia said, Jokowi should first fix himself, especially in his commitment to eradicating corruption.

"The first party who must be aware and improve because the eradication of corruption has not improved is President Joko Widodo himself. Because the problem with law enforcement today is the absence of a clear attitude from the president," concluded the anti-corruption activist.