KPK: 82.3 Percent Of Regional Head Candidates Say There Are Donors To Finance Them

KPK Chairman Firli Bahuri (Photo: KPK Public Relations)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Firli Bahuri revealed that almost half of the candidates for regional heads stated that there were donors to finance their activities. He said this happened because of the high cost of politics in the country.

"The latest data is that 82.3 percent of regional head candidates stated that there were donors in their pilkada funding," Firli said in a written statement quoted on Wednesday, December 15.

Furthermore, the donors will ask for a return in the form of ease of licensing as well as being facilitated when participating in the procurement of government projects, both goods, and services. "This information was obtained from themselves, the governors, regional heads, and legislators," said the former Deputy for Enforcement of the Corruption Eradication Commission.

Firli then emphasized that efforts to cut high political costs need to be made. The reason is that this kind of thing can lead to efforts to pay back and return the favor to donors when a candidate for office gets his position.

Moreover, the need for large amounts of money is not only for campaigns but also for political dowries. He said, the award was made so that certain candidates get recommendations from the party.

For these reasons, Firli then suggested the abolition of the presidential threshold or the specified threshold. According to him, this step is appropriate to take to eradicate corruption because it will eliminate political dowries and lower campaign costs.

"I think that if 0 percent PT can make political parties' political dowries disappear and campaign costs are cheap. So that elected officials are freer to work well, rather than thinking about corruption to pay back their capital and repay donors, why not this PT 0 percent," he said.

"If political costs are indeed driving the desire for blind corruption for all political officials, then the root cause of the problem must immediately be addressed. One of them is the presidential threshold," added Firli.

He said what he said did not mean he was interfering in political affairs. "Once again I emphasize that I do not enter the realm of the political chamber or the chamber of judicial power," he said.

Firli said his statement was solely to eradicate corrupt practices that occurred due to high political costs and the practice of giving dowries to parties. "I just want Indonesia to be free and free from corrupt practices," he said.

"To free Indonesia from corruption, it is necessary for the role of all the nation's children and a national orchestration to build an anti-corruption culture in efforts to eradicate corruption," said Firli.