TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo asserted that efforts to combat corruption should not be identical to arrests. He made the statement in the commemoration event of the 2021 World Anti-Corruption Day organized by the national anti-graft body KPK on Thursday, December 9.

“Corruption eradication must not always be identical to arrests. [Efforts] to combat corruption must be from the core of the problem. Prevention is a more fundamental measure,” said the President.

He demanded methods of eradicating graft as an extraordinary crime be perfected. “We need new, more extraordinary methods. We must keep improving the methods of eradicating corruption,” he added.

KPK chairman Firli Bahuri said his agency had detained 1,291 suspects of corruption cases since the agency was founded, and saved the return of state losses of Rp2.6 trillion throughout 2021. “The KPK has also saved potential state losses of Rp46.5 trillion,” he claimed.

The head of state expressed appreciation for the achievements of KPK and other law enforcement agencies. However, he asked the authorities not to be complacent, given that based on a national survey last November, the public listed corruption eradication as the second urgent issue to be solved. The country’s corruption perception index also lagged far behind that of neighboring countries.

“Out of 180 countries, Singapore ranks third, Brunei Darussalam ranks 35, Malaysia ranks 57, while Indonesia is still ranked 102,” said Jokowi.

Read: World Anti-Corruption Day; Jokowi Gives Speech on Handling Graft Cases

DEWI NURITA