Denying Luhut, Novel Baswedan Said That It Was Not OTT That Made Indonesia's Name Bad

Novel Baswedan/DOK/ANTARA PHOTO

JAKARTA - Former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan said that Indonesia's bad name was not because of the frequent prosecution of corruptors. In fact, because the eradication of corruption is weakened, other countries end up giving a negative assessment.

This was conveyed by Novel in response to the statement by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan who said that the crackdown on corruption, including the sting operation (OTT), had tarnished Indonesia's reputation.

"If it is said that OTT has made the country's name ugly, I don't think so. In fact, the weakened conditions for eradicating corruption have made other countries' views of Indonesia less positive", said Novel in a written statement to journalists, Tuesday, December 20.

Novel reminded that an official should not be permissive towards corrupt practices. Moreover, corruption is an extraordinary crime that must be eradicated.

"It's not good then (officials, red) don't care or are permissive about corrupt practices", he said.

Even so, Novel agrees that prosecution must be carried out in conjunction with prevention and education. If these steps do not go together, efforts to eradicate corruption will not run optimally.

The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan previously reminded the KPK not to take action too often. According to him, prevention should be done more optimally.

"We really want to clean up in heaven, you. So the KPK shouldn't even make a few arrests. That's not good either, look at it", Luhut said in his speech at the Launching of the 2023-2024 Corruption Prevention Action in the Central Jakarta area, Tuesday, December 20.

Not only that, but Luhut also considers the hand-catching operation (OTT) which is often carried out by the anti-corruption commission also has a negative impact. So, he said, all procurement should be digitized so that corruption prevention can be carried out.

"OTT isn't good, actually it's really bad for this country. But if it's digitalized, who wants to fight us", he said.