Publish Names of Lawmakers Refusing to File Wealth Reports

ANTARA FOTO/SIGID KURNIAWAN

Ketua DPRD DKI Jakarta Prasetio Edi Marsudi (kedua kiri) memberikan keterangan kepada wartawan Jakarta Council Speaker Edi Marsudi (second left) speaks to reporters at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building in Jakarta on Wednesday (23/01/2019). Prasetio went to the KPK to submit his report on the assets of state officials (LHKPN).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS -- The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is mulling the option to publish the names of lawmakers who refuse to file their official wealth reports (LHKPN). The social punishment is hoped to urge more legislators to file their LHKPN.

In the 2017-2018 period, the level of compliance of legislators in filing their LHKPN was only 21.42 percent. Of the 537 legislators for whom filing LHKPN is mandatory, only 115 actually did it. This was a significant decrease from the 96.36 percent in 2016-2017.

KPK data on Wednesday (23/1/2019) showed that legislators’ level of compliance in filing LHKPN in 2017-2018 was far below that of officials in the executive branch, at 66.31 percent, and employees of state- and region-owned enterprises, at 85.01 percent.

KPK deputy chair Laode M. Syarif said that members of the House of Representatives and regional legislative councils (DPRDs) that did not file their LHKPN had a greater tendency to exhibit corruptive behavior.

“We may assume that they are prone to corruption. Why? This is just about reporting their wealth and it is mandated by the law. Why don’t they adhere to it?” Laode said in Padang, West Sumatra.

Laode then said that the KPK planned to publish the names of lawmakers who refused to file their LHKPN, along with their political party affiliations and home addresses. “Other than in newspapers, we will also publish the list on the KPK’s website. The goal is to inform the public, especially as we are in the campaign season,” he said.

Punishment

KPK deputy for prevention Pahala Nainggolan said that the level of compliance in filing LHKPN could serve as a measure of political parties’ commitment in internal improvements.

According to Pahala, the presence of administrative punishments leads to a high level of compliance in filing LHKPNs in the executive branch and in state- and region-owned enterprises. These administrative punishments were included in Government Regulation (PP) No. 53/2010 on civil servants’ discipline and in internal regulations in many agencies, among other regulations. The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, for instance, has a regulation that makes it difficult for officials and employees who do not file their LHKPN to access the administration system. This affects their monthly allowances. “In other agencies, you cannot be promoted until you have filed your LHKPN,” Pahala said.

Separately, Indonesia Parliament Watch (Formappi) researcher Lucius Karus said that the lack of punishment against lawmakers who failed to report their LHKPN had led to poor discipline among them in updating their LHKPN annually. In the future, the KPK needs to make breakthroughs in urging these politicians to file their LHKPN.

Among the ways to do this is by publishing the names of lawmakers who refuse to file their LHKPN. Lucius said that, principally, no regulation prohibited the KPK from doing so. This is because the LHKPN is already a public document accessible on the KPK’s official website.

However, in the long run, Lucius said, regulation should be improved to create punishments for state officials who do not file their LHKPN. Lawmakers must be aware of their positions as state officials and the accountability and transparency ethics that they had to adhere to. “It is really unfortunate if politicians must be forced to adhere to laws by the presence of punishments. This should have been part of their ethical awareness in politics,” Lucius said.

House speaker Bambang Soesatyo said that there had never been any punishments for lawmakers who failed to file their LHKPN. Therefore, compliance fully depends on the awareness of each lawmaker. Bambang said that, in the spirit of campaigning for a higher level of compliance, the House speakership had called on all House faction leaders to remind their members to file their LHKPNs.

The House opened an LHKPN report booth at the legislative complex in Senayan to facilitate lawmakers and their staff members in periodically updating their LHKPN. (IAN/ZAK/AGE)