Corruption continues to plague the country amid the pandemic. It seems that the political elites have lost their empathy for the people.
By
KOMPAS EDITOR
·3 minutes read
Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
Former Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Edhy Prabowo arrived at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building to be examined as a suspect in a corruption case related to the lobster larva export permit at the KPK building, Jakarta, Friday (22/1/2021).
Corruption continues to plague the country amid the pandemic. It seems that the political elites have lost their empathy for the people.
Through the news media, the public can see where the proceeds of the corruption flowed. Some were used to pay for private secretaries, rent apartments, pay for singers, and some was distributed to affiliated parties for certain purposes. The public is sad, annoyed, angry, and furious to see how the minister who is allegedly involved in a corruption case uses the illegal funds to finance his activities.
The behavior of corrupt government officials, to borrow Sidhunata\'s term in an article in Kompas daily March 20, 2021, titled “Cries of Death during the Pandemic”, is tone deaf politics. They enjoy their power for personal or group gain. They have the heart to steal social assistance intended for the poor to enrich themselves.
As predicted earlier, the uncontrolled Covid-19 pandemic will open up space for corruption. Therefore, the preparedness of the system to prevent corruption should be a top priority. Even though there is legal “protection” through a Government Regulation in Lieu of a Law, if the actual intention is to commit acts of corruption, the corrupt person deserves the maximum punishment. Corruption during a disaster can be categorized as a crime against humanity.
Convicted by the Bank Bali cessie case, Joko Soegiarto Tjandra, awaits trial on the Criminal Act of Corruption (Tipikor) at the Central Jakarta District Court, March 4, 2021.
According to a survey conducted by Kompas on March 29, 2021, 76.6 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with the court\'s verdicts on corruption cases. On the other hand, only 15.1 percent were satisfied. The survey indicates the gap between the public’s sense of justice and the sense of justice of the judges. Indeed, there are differences in perspective between the judicial corps and the public regarding the sense of justice.
For example, the former Secretary General of the Supreme Court (MA), M Nurhadi, who was proven to have received funds from bribery cases, was said to have contributed to the court in improving the judicial system. The verdict was relatively light.
Corruption in all of its forms continues to plague in the country because of the permissive attitude of society. The findings of the Kompas Research and Development Center are quite surprising. Nearly half of the respondents (53.3 percent) prefer to keep silent when they see corrupt practices. From these findings, the public is worried that if they report corruption, they will have to deal with law enforcement officials, which can be a tiring process. Or, the public does not know how to report suspected corruption and whether there is any guarantee that they will be safe.
The findings of the Kompas Research and Development Center should serve as a wakeup call. When civil society grows tired, apathetic and indifferent, while the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is still busy with its own problems, this nation\'s struggle to clean up corruption becomes more difficult. The goal of the 1998 reform to establish sate state administrators who are clean and free of corruption, collusion and nepotism, has become more difficult to achieve, because such practices have become part of political activities, thus threatening the future of this country.
