Public Trust In KPK Declines In Three Years, ICW: President, DPR RI, Until Firli Bahuri Is The Most Responsible

Illustration (Irfan Meidianto/VOI)

JAKARTA - Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) assesses that there are three parties most responsible for the declining level of public trust in the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). They are President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), DPR RI, and five KPK leaders, especially KPK Chair Firli Bahuri.

This was conveyed in response to the results of a poll issued by the Indonesian Political Indicators Survey Institute on Sunday, April 3.

Executive Director of Indonesian Political Indicators Burhanuddin Muhtadi said the level of public trust in the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) experienced a downward trend over the past three years.

"There are three parties who are most responsible for the current situation of the KPK. The first is the president and the second is the DPR RI," said ICW researcher Kurnia Ramadhana in a written statement to reporters, Monday, April 4.

Two institutions, continued Kurnia, contributed to the decline in the trust of the KPK because they had revised the KPK Law. "And include a problematic commissioner," he said.

In addition, the KPK leaders, in this case, Firli Bahuri, also contributed to making the public no longer trust the KPK. Because, they have done a lot of controversies, plus the number of prosecutions has decreased during their tenure.

"So it is natural that people are reluctant to put their trust in the KPK," said Kurnia.

With these various conditions, ICW assesses that the current condition of the KPK is difficult to save. Moreover, if the laws that weaken this institution are still in effect.

Moreover, Kurnia believes that the KPK Law which weakens the anti-corruption commission cannot be revised. Moreover, President Jokowi and the Indonesian House of Representatives did not intend to strengthen the KPK from the start.

Finally, Kurnia said, the declining level of public trust in the KPK should be the right momentum for Firli Bahuri to resign from his position. "Because he has failed to lead the KPK in a better direction," he said.

As previously reported, the Indonesian Political Indicators Survey Institute noted that as of February 2019, the public confidence figure began to decline to 80.3 percent. Then in September 2020, it decreased again to 72 percent, decreasing again in November 2021 to 71.1 percent. This figure began to increase slightly in February 2022 to 74 percent.

"Since 2018 was the first time the KPK (public trust) has been detected, we have detected quite a high level of trust. Then from 2019, 2020, 2021 to 2022, the trust has fallen," he said.

In fact, in 2018, the level of public trust in the KPK had exceeded the level of trust in the Police and the Prosecutor's Office. However, after the revision of the KPK Law, the trend continued to decline.

"The KPK was once part of an institution that was trusted by the public apart from the TNI and the President, but lately it seems that the KPK is facing issues, especially after the revision of the KPK Law. We know that this makes the public's trust decrease even though there is a slight increase compared to December, but it still hasn't returned to the way it was," explained Burhanuddin Muhtadi in the survey presentation, Sunday, April 3.