The government and the House of Representatives (DPR) are planning to raise political party financial assistance from IDR 1,000 to IDR 3,000 per vote, a proposal that has sparked public debate, with both supporters and critics weighing in.
One such voice is Alfath Bagus Panuntun, a lecturer at the Department of Politics and Government, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), who welcomed the plan but emphasized several critical points.
According to Panuntun, increasing political party funding is a positive step, provided it is accompanied by governance reforms and strict oversight mechanisms.
Citing data from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), he noted that current state contributions to political parties account for only 1.5% of their minimum funding needs, making parties highly dependent on founding families and oligarchs.
“This situation creates opportunities for transactional politics that blur the focus on public service,” he stated on Wednesday (Jul. 30) at the UGM campus.
Panuntun emphasized that the funding increase must be accompanied by cuts to public officials’ privileges and budgets, along with improvements in party cadre recruitment.
He stressed the importance of promoting politicians who are not solely driven by power or material gain, but who also possess strong public ethics and a service-oriented mindset.
Responding to the current weak reporting system for party finances, he noted that party reports tend to be accepted “as-is” without thorough auditing.
To address this, he advocated for the implementation of social audits as a concrete step toward ensuring transparency and accountability.
He proposed that the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) facilitate an annual open forum, where political parties are required to publicly present their financial reports before civil society organizations, academics, and journalists.
“These reports must also be published on their official websites so the public knows where state funds are being used,” he asserted.
On the allocation of funds for political education, Panuntun argued that there should be clear indicators of success. One such indicator is the quality of public debates, both online and offline.
“If the debates critically address public issues, then we can say that political education is taking place,” he explained.
He also recommended revisions to election and political party laws, as well as improvements in internal party management to prevent increased funding from becoming a means for elite profit-sharing.
He stressed that without a sound system, large sums of money could exacerbate political corruption.
Panuntun concluded the interview by emphasizing that the public must be involved in the democratic process.
He stated that democracy should not be managed exclusively and that the people must be given space to monitor governance as a fundamental requirement for a healthy democracy.
Author: Ika Agustine
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Anisa Nurliana
Illustration: CNNIndonesia