Jokowi Hints on Death Penalty; ICJR Doubts its Effectiveness

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) Executive Director Anggara, criticized President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's statement regarding the reintroduction of the death penalty for corruptors. The President said that it could be done if the people demands it. 

The ICJR executive argued that the use of strict punishment in the country's history never presents the expected result. Anggara added that the penal populism culture is a major burden in formulating an evidence-based rational policy. 

Anggara also called for President Jokowi to tread carefully in determining the direction of Indonesia's corruption eradication policies. 

"ICJR sees that hard enforcements such as imposing the death penalty will be ineffective in Indonesia," said Anggara in a written statement on Tuesday, December 10, 2019. Anggara even compared data from countries that rank high in the corruption perception index that mostly are European and Australian regions.

Anggara provided China as an example of a nation that practices the death penalty but has yet to improve its corruption perception index ranking. China's corruption perception index from 2015 to 2018 remains around 37 to 41, which is not far from Indonesia's 36 to 38 during the same time period. 

Anggara believed that this data shows that applying the death penalty will not have an effect on a country's corruption perception index and urges President Jokowi to produce policies that highlight corruption prevention.

DEWI NURITA