Bibit Samad Rianto: Integrity of Officials Remains Questionable  

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - When the offer came to head the Village Funds Taskforce, Bibit Samad Rianto did not hesitate. The former deputy chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) knew he will face gargantuan challenges to fighting regional corruption. Nevertheless, he chose to accept the position when Indonesia’s Minister for Villages Eko Putro Sandjojo called on him in early July. 

Bibit had initially visited Eko to report on the results of a study conducted by an independent anti-graft movement on the use of village funds in Wasior, Papua. Bibit was instead asked whether he would like to lead a task force that would monitor the disbursement of village funds all over the country and prevent their misuse. 

The task force is expected to assist village chiefs and regional leaders in their programs involving village funds to expedite development. As part of Indonesia’s large scale decentralization initiative, the country’s Village Funds program hopes to reduce poverty through development across 74,000 villages in the archipelago. 

"It is my mission in life to help fix the turmoil in this country," said Bibit, who is now 71.

His career has never strayed far from fighting corruption. Bibit unraveled big corruption cases when he was KPK deputy chief between 2007 and 2011. This included the corrupt procurement of an integrated radio communications system at the Forestry Ministry involving Anggoro Widjojo. 

Bibit came into prominence when he and another former KPK boss, Chandra Hamzah, were framed by the police and named as bribery suspects for allegedly helping Anggoro dodge law enforcement. The former KPK deputies, who were eventually proven innocent of all charges, were caught in a fierce dispute with Susno Duadji, then the Indonesian Police chief of detectives, and they found themselves at the center of a showdown involving the KPK and the police known popularly as ‘Cicak vs. Buaya’ (the Gecko vs. the Crocodile). After leaving the KPK, Bibit was appointed by the Youth and Sports Ministry as the chairman of the Football Transition Team in 2015, after the government suspended the activities of PSSI, the All Indonesia Football Association.

His latest mission today is no less difficult. Staffed with 26 people, the Village Fund Taskforce must oversee the distribution of Rp60 trillion in assistance to over 74,000 villages throughout Indonesia and to ensure the money is indeed used for village development. Bibit knows of the problems of minimal supervision with this program, the difficulties in obtaining financial reports and misuse of village funds. "Village funds are the latest target for a major feast of corruption," he told Tempo reporters Raymundus Rikang, Indri Maulidar, and Reza Maulana last July.

Bibit’s thoughts were spot on. The KPK recently nabbed Pamekasan Regent Achmad Syafii and Chief Prosecutor Rudi Indra Prasetya over suspicions of misusing village funds. After that case came to light, Tempo interviewed Bibit last week. "This nation is still not cured from this kind of moral illness," said the former East Kalimantan Regional Police Chief, harshly.

The Pamekasan Regent is allegedly involved in the misuse of village funds. Did he get past you?

Corruption existed before we had this Village Fund program. This nation is still not cured from this kind of moral illness. Village funds offer a new playing field for corruptors because they total over Rp60 trillion. The morality and integrity of officials managing the funds remain questionable. The government actually set up the program so villages could become independent.

Where is it possible to misuse village funds?

In the transfer of funds and in the spending. Village heads are the ones most susceptible to engaging in corruption because they control the local budgets. Monitoring and oversight, both by villagers and NGOs, remain very weak.

Why are village heads susceptible to being corrupt?

The costs of politics and getting to be a village head are comparable to those to becoming a House of Representatives (DPR) member or a regional head. I received a report in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, where every home in Mamuju had to pay money towards village political candidacy costs, and this was equivalent to a cost of a motorcycle. This is for every home. And they considered this an investment because returns are expected once that political candidate becomes village chief. So, the position of a village chief is financially attractive.

We heard from the Home Affairs Ministry the number of proposals to create new villages increased after village funds were made available...

The reports I have received is the opposite: subdistricts now are seeking a return to their former status as villages, so they can then get their share of village funds. Nevertheless, there is a growing trend, with currently 1,800 proposals already lodged by villages to expand into newer ones. It is not known for now whether these are due to administrative needs or because of the existence of the village fund program.

How are village funds being diverted?

Paying off officials authorized to disburse village funds, for quicker transfers. Some village officials also pay kickbacks to those preparing accountability reports on the use of funds. In the Pamekasan scandal, the village chief had allegedly bribed the prosecutor to prevent investigations into the misuse of village funds.

What strategy do you have to prevent such misuse in future?

We are developing a monitoring system. This will be strengthened by the use of information technology. Mobile phones are becoming cheaper, so villagers can directly report abuses via email, text messages, or telephone to the taskforce offices.

Are you certain such a system will work?

No matter how good a system may be, morals of a community need to change. Otherwise, nothing will. Our system of law enforcement is still very poor. Our remuneration system is no less important. The current payment system is substandard. If someone’s salary is low, while the money circulating outside is huge, as is the case with village funds, corruption is bound to continue.

How do you differentiate between those who have misused funds due to lack of knowledge and those who clearly intended to corrupt?

Corrupt officials won’t dare to come see me. If they are honest, they would want to come and see me. We would still investigate because the funds were misused. It could be because of failure to understand regulations of the usage of funds. We would investigate by comparing their actions to what is stated in the regulations. If it was due to failure to understand regulations, there are administrative penalties to pay. If corruption is suspected, the case will be handed over to the police and prosecutors.

Will the regional police and prosecutors investigate these cases fully?

I have coordinated the matter with National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian so that cases in villages do not get settled under the table. However small a crime may be, it must be punished. This is for the deterrent effect and as shock therapy. Do not fool around with village funds.

Could that view lead to village heads then being fearful of using their money?

Our involvement is not to actively seek out wrongdoing by village head. Rather, those who are unsure about spending these funds because they do not understand the rules ought to contact us for clarification purposes. One of the taskforce’s jobs is to familiarize them with the rules and to advocate them.

Read the full interview in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine