In a speech that lasted 32 minutes 54 seconds and consisted of 2,734 words, the President only mentioned corruption once when expressing appreciation for the KPK alongside other state institutions.
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KOMPAS EDITOR
·3 minutes read
MUCHLIS JR - BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN
President Joko Widodo made a speech at the 2021 MPR RI Annual Session and the Joint Session of the DPR RI and DPD RI in the context of the 76th Anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia in the Plenary Meeting Room, Nusantara Building MPR/DPR/DPD RI, Monday (16/8/2021).
The prolonged Covid-19 pandemic seems to have eliminated the country’s problem of endemic corruption. The diction no longer touches corruption.
The series of state speeches on Monday, 16 Aug. 2021, delivered by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo, House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Puan Maharani, and Regional Representatives Council (DPD) Chairperson La Nyalla Mattalitti did not mention the corruption issue.
In a speech that lasted 32 minutes 54 seconds and consisted of 2,734 words, the President only mentioned corruption once when expressing appreciation for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) alongside other state institutions. La Nyalla appealed to state officials to avoid corruption. The leaders of the four state institutions did not touch upon human rights and democracy issues much. The four emphasized the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic crisis, social assistance, vaccinations, and other issues related to the pandemic.
This at least illustrates the gap that exists between the discourse of the public and activists and the discourse of the elite. The people and anticorruption activists shout out the dangers of corruption because it has become a national comorbidity. Some members of the public who are nervous about the trend of wholesale reductions in punishments for defendants standing trial for corruption do not appear on the radars of the political elite.
G.P. Sidhunata, in his introduction to the book Negara Bangsa di Simpang Jalan (Nation State at a Crossroads; 2021), quotes Uwe Dolata M.A. saying that corruption had become endemic and lodged in people\'s hearts, and that corruption had become part of subconscious activities that were no longer controlled by ratios.
Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
Pinangki Sirna Malasari answers questions from the public prosecutor during his trial as a defendant at the Corruption Court, Jakarta, Wednesday (6/1/2021). The special treatment given to Attorney General Office (AGO) prosecutor Pinangki Sirna Malasari has demonstrated how the law is enforced in this country.
We cannot blame the leaders of the state institutions. This could be because the discourse on corruption is no longer important to the elite. However, it could also be that the speechwriters of these institutional leaders are not capturing the public dynamics and spirit of a people already sick of corruption.
Apart from corruption and the pandemic, the one issue that did receive attention was the idea to amend the Constitution, particularly the state guidelines. The MPR Speaker, the President, and the DPD Chairman all mentioned the importance of the state guidelines. President Jokowi appreciated the MPR’s agenda to review the legal substance and form of the State Policy Guidelines (PPHN). The DPD chairman said that the people’s council supported the PPHN in the Constitution. Meanwhile, the MPR Speaker said that a limited amendment to the 1945 Constitution was needed, in particular an additional provision on the MPR\'s authority to determine the PPHN.
We point out that making changes to the Constitution is the domain of the MPR. However, the idea of changing the Constitution to include articles on the PPHN is impossible without touching other articles. Once the MPR opens Pandora\'s box, no one can guarantee that the snowball of Constitutional changes can be controlled.
Under the mechanism of procedural democracy, Constitutional changes may lead to a model of Constitutional gratification that could disrupt the division of power and tamper with the transition of power. Political transactions could happen, and this would be very risky because it only benefits the elite.
