Corruption is one of the biggest challenges in a country’s development.
In Indonesia, efforts to combat corruption have faced ups and downs, as reflected in the 2024 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) report recently released by Transparency International Indonesia (TII).
This index measures the level of corruption perceived by the public and businesses. The result shows that Indonesia’s CPI rose by three points to 37 compared to 2022 and 2023.
However, Indonesia still lags behind other ASEAN countries such as Singapore (83), Malaysia (47), and Vietnam (42).
This indicates that improvements in the legal system, bureaucratic reform, and transparency in governance remain major challenges.
A lecturer from the Faculty of Economics and Business at Universitas Gadjah Mada (FEB UGM), Dr. Rimawan Pradiptyo, a researcher and corruption observer, highlighted several challenges in combating corruption in Indonesia.
The first is the weak institutional reform. Poor institutional quality hampers efforts to prevent and address corruption. Policy changes are often made without considering the sustainability of previous reforms.
Next is the decline in the independence of Law Enforcement Agencies, which has led to a drop in public trust in institutions such as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the Attorney General’s Office, and the Police due to various cases that have tarnished their credibility.
“The deep-rooted culture of corruption is also a barrier. Moreover, corruption is not only occurring in the government sector but has also become a common practice in the business world,” Dr. Pradiptyo explained during the BersemIE (Belajar Bersama Ilmu Ekonomi) event on Thursday (Feb. 13) at the Pertamina Tower, FEB UGM.
Dr. Pradiptyo explained that since 2012, Indonesia’s CPI has been measured using seven main indicators.
However, in 2024, TII reintroduced an indicator from the World Economic Forum (WEF) that had not been used in the index calculation in 2022 and 2023.
As a result, Indonesia’s CPI rose by three points to 37 compared to 2022 and 2023.
If using the same methodology as in previous years, the 2024 CPI score would remain at 34 or 35, indicating that there has been no significant change in corruption eradication efforts in Indonesia.
He then offered several recommendations to significantly improve Indonesia’s CPI.
In addition to strengthening bureaucratic reform and good governance, it is crucial to ensure the independence of Law Enforcement Agencies from political interference and the influence of certain groups.
Increasing public and business sector participation in reporting and preventing corruption is also necessary.
“Institutional reform and strong commitment from all parties, including the government, the private sector, and civil society, are needed to create a cleaner and more transparent Indonesia,” he said.
“Unlike other crimes that victims can directly report, corruption often involves parties who mutually benefit from the practice. This makes measuring the level of corruption challenging.”
He continued by explaining that victimization surveys are highly biased when respondents are asked whether they have been victims of corruption.
Therefore, corruption measurement relies on various indicators from international institutions such as the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and the World Justice Project (WJP).
Author: Triya Andriyani
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya
Photographer: Donnie