Stopping the corrupt revolving door from within
To truly stop corruption, Indonesia must look beyond prosecuting rogue individuals and install unbreakable internal controls where the revolving door starts spinning.
Indonesia, on the cusp of 81 years of independence, grapples with a critical issue that threatens its sovereignty: corruption. While the nation prides itself on autonomy from foreign rule, the pervasive influence of private interests within its institutions poses a more insidious threat. According to Tauvik M. Soeherman and Unang Mulkhan, corruption in Indonesia transcends individual acts; it is embedded in a political-economic ecosystem where power players circulate freely among government positions, regulatory bodies, and private corporations.
This revolving door converts public authority into private gain, a reality highlighted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Indonesia Chapter in its 2025 survey. Corruption is the leading form of occupational fraud in the country, accounting for 47.6 percent of all cases. The survey reveals inadequate internal controls as the primary enabler of misconduct (39 percent), followed by a weak tone at the top (23 percent) and the undermining of existing controls (16 percent).
A case in point is President Prabowo Subianto’s MBG initiative aimed at combating child malnutrition. Allegations of corruption within the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) have exposed systemic flaws that extend beyond individual wrongdoing, revealing deeper vulnerabilities in the very internal controls designed to prevent abuse.
To truly ensure independence, Indonesia must address not just the external influences but also the internal mechanisms that facilitate corruption.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post Academia's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
