Corruption Eradication strategies and Indonesian Constitutional Law: Lessons Learned from International Practices

Abstract

  Anti-corruption became one of the top priorities in post-Suharto Indonesia, with democratization, market liberalization, and institutional anti-corruption frameworks pursued as a means to enhance transparency and accountability in the Indonesian public governance system. Despite several anti-corruption laws and the presence of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Indonesia still failed to overcome the menace of corruption. Indonesia was ranked 85tth out of 180 countries according to “Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI)” for 2019. Therefore, this study made an advance by using comparative analysis, inductive and deductive reasoning to explore the legal and social dynamics of European and Asian countries with the lowest level of corruption to infer some insights for Indonesia and other developing countries. Results revealed that there is a dire need for Indonesian legal authorities and government to either revise the powers of the KPK or constitutionally establish another more powerful institution with enough legal power to deal with corrupt people and/or legal entities and free from political influence. In addition, due to poor control and law order situation in developing countries, KPK should have special protection in carrying out its duties. Policy insights and future research directions are suggested.