Indonesia’s bid to ‘force’ officials to live modestly will only lead them to hide assets, critics say
- The anti-corruption watchdog has stepped up its crackdown on civil servants and their families for publicising their lavish spending habits on social media
- One lawmaker said ‘forcing’ civil servants to stick to modest lifestyles will make them more likely to hide ill-gotten gains and complicate the drive against corruption
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) recently stepped up its crackdown on civil servants and their families for publicising their lavish spending habits on social media, in a country where more than 26 million people live below the poverty line of US$2.15 per day.
The KPK also launched investigations against officials for amassing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income, but advocacy groups and lawmakers doubt if the training sessions are an effective way to root out corruption among officials.
Ahmad Sahroni, a lawmaker from the NasDem Party, said “forcing” civil servants to stick to modest lifestyles will make them more likely to hide ill-gotten gains and complicate the KPK’s drive against corruption.
Ahmad, who is also on a parliamentary panel overseeing law, human rights and security, said it’s not a bad idea to conduct courses, but the agency needs to focus more on fighting corruption and money-laundering through rigorous measures, including persuading officials to submit their asset reports on time.
“The KPK needs to remind those who forget, and to actively ask for those who intentionally [do not submit their wealth reports],” The Jakarta Post quoted him as saying.
The Jakarta city administration announced last week that it would hold a two-day course for civil servants and their wives on protecting the integrity of the workforce in the coming months.