Many Regional Heads Involved In Corruption Cases, KPK: If You Want To Be Regent, You Have To Spend IDR 5-10 Billion

Deputy Chairman of the KPK Nurul Gufron (Photo: Wardhani Tsa Tsia/VOI)

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Nurul Ghufron, said that the cause of regional heads in Indonesia to commit corruption crimes is the high cost of politics.

Where when someone participates in the election to become a regional head, they have to pay up to billions of rupiah. Even though their wealth alone does not reach that number.

This was conveyed by Ghufron while giving a public lecture at the University of Borneo Tarakan (UBT) in a hybrid manner in the Hall of the UBT Rectorate Building, North Kalimantan, Tuesday, October 26.

"An anomaly that only occurs in Indonesia when many want to become regents by spending an expensive fee of around IDR 5-10 billion. It is very far compared to their wealth", said Ghufron, quoted from his written statement, Wednesday, October 26.

Ghufron said, to find this fund, of course, many ways were done by the candidates. One of them is getting funding from sponsors. This of course opens up space for corruption. Where the financiers have the potential to collect capital back through the procurement of goods and services projects.

This is evidenced by the many corruption cases handled by the KPK using the bribery mode. Based on Ghufron's bagged data, currently, there are 739 bribery cases handled by the KPK.

The bribery case, he continued, was related to the processing of permits and procurement of goods and services (PBJ) in the regions and sadly this happened in all regions. In fact, currently, there are 27 regional heads from 34 provinces who have been implicated in criminal acts of hooliganism.

Furthermore, Ghufron warned that corruption can damage the economic order, starting from the difficulty of obtaining good goods to hampering the development of human resources. Thus, he asked all parties to stay away from corrupt practices, including corruption related to natural resources.

"Because of bribery exploitation of natural resources is not controlled, so that it inherits disaster for posterity", he said.

Not only that, but corruption can also destroy a country. So, the KPK is now trying to continue to do prevention in addition to continuing to take action.

"The Indonesian nation's houses will be destroyed if there is corruption. The national objectives by the opening of the 1945 Constitution, namely protecting the entire nation and Indonesia's bloodshed, advancing public welfare, educating the nation's life, and implementing world order based on eternal peace and social justice, will not be realized", he concluded.