TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Kutai Kartanegara Regent Rita Widyasari has finally followed in the footsteps of her father, the late Syaukani Hasan Rais. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has declared her a suspect last week, so she is suffering the same fate as Syaukani in 2006 when he held the same position. Once again, her case reflects the failure of our democracy to produce untainted leaders.

Rita stands accused of taking a Rp6 billion bribe from Sawit Golden Prima CEO, who is also named as a suspect by the KPK. This facilitation fee is believed to be related to the granting of palm oil permits for the Kutai Regency. Her approach seems similar to that of Cilegon Mayor Iman Ariyadi, nabbed by the KPK in an operation that caught him in the act the previous week. The Mayor and his subordinates are believed to have accepted a bribe of Rp1.5 billion from a businessman in connection with the issuance of a permit for an industrial area.

Rita and Iman's cases add to the long list of regional heads embroiled in corruption. In the last two years, 19 regional heads have been caught by the KPK. From its records, between 2004 and June 2017, 78 regional heads, including 18 governors and 60 mayors or regents and their deputies, were involved in corruption.

The arrests of these officials apparently have not deterred others since, among other reasons, the guilty ones never seem to have suffered significant financial consequences. Those convicted of corruption generally remain prosperous as not all their wealth is seized. Their sentences, too, are relatively light. Rita's father, for example, was sentenced to only two years and six months in prison, although the Supreme Court did finally increase that to six years.

The Indonesia Corruption Watch recorded corruptors sentences through the first half of last year. No fewer than 71 percent of the 384 people accused of corruption received light punishments of less than four years in prison. During that period, state prosecutors on average sought sentences of three years and four months imprisonment. In reality, these punishments are even lighter as they are often cut short by remissions.

Now there is another loophole for corruptors to get themselves off by asking for a pre-trial hearing. This weak point in the legal process, which first came into play in 2015, appears once someone is named a suspect and becomes the object of such a hearing. Nganjuk Regent Taufiqurrahman was let off the KPK's charges after winning such a pre-trial in March.

It is not just the justice process that needs improvement: the current political process that tends to produce corrupt leaders also needs to be straightened out. Political parties, the government, and the public are all responsible for this failure of the mechanisms of democracy. Political parties often push forward weak, corrupt candidates so that they can profit from the candidates later. The public is equally uncritical, as people opt for popular figures despite their poor records.

The government needs to ensure that democratic mechanisms are not sullied by political bribes. Parties, too, must be exhorted to conduct political education for the public rather than leaving them ignorant. The case of Rita Widyasari shows this tendency. She would not have been elected regent if Kutai's voters had realized how poor her father's track record was, and the dangers of a political dynasty.

The transactional connections between regional governments and assemblies also enable regional heads to get involved in corruption. The practice of bribery involving politicians and government officials occur from budgeting to the execution of government projects. Without any change in this deplorable political practice, corruption cases featuring regional heads will simply continue to haunt us.

Read the full story in this week’s edition of Tempo English Magazine