Indonesians growing more tolerant of corruption: survey
More than 46% of respondents were offered money or benefits in exchange for promises to vote for certain candidates in this year’s elections
INDONESIANS are becoming more tolerant of corruption, as shown by its anti-graft index slipping to the lowest level since 2021.
The score fell to the lowest in three years at 3.85, below the government’s target of 4.1, data from the Indonesian central statistics agency showed on Monday (Jul 15).
The index measures how permissive the public is towards corrupt practices. A score of zero indicates a high tolerance for graft, while five represents a strong rejection if it.
President Joko Widodo has never reached his own anti-corruption target score of four and 4.1 during his decade in office.
The waning rejection of corruption means that Indonesians see bribery and nepotism as a common way to get ahead, paving the way for systemic graft to take root in the government.
About 17 per cent of those surveyed said it was normal to pay more than the required amount when accessing public services.
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More than 46 per cent noted that they were offered money or benefits in exchange for promising to vote for certain candidates in this year’s elections, said Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, acting head of the country’s statistics agency.
Jokowi, as the leader is known, rose to power on a campaign to fight corruption and embarked on a series of bureaucratic reforms to end graft.
He has since faced accusations of nepotism after his son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, became the country’s vice president-elect by making use of a legal exemption presided over by Jokowi’s brother-in-law.
“To improve the anti-corruption index, we need political commitment from our top leaders,” said Arya Fernandes, a political analyst at the Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
The ongoing election of Indonesia’s anti-corruption commission members will be key to ensuring their credibility and professionalism, he added.
“As for the public side, we need political education to convey that corruption has a bad impact on the economy,” said Fernandes. BLOOMBERG
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