Jokowi Brushes Off Poor Corruption Perception Index Score

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said in a press conference at the State Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday, that Indonesia’s low Corruption Perception Index (IPK) 2022 score will not affect Indonesia’s investment climate. He downplayed the poor score by arguing that investors would focus more on the internal rate of return instead of public sector corruption.

However, he did acknowledge that there will be consequences in terms of investments due to the low score. “Because investors see how large an IRR is, that is usually the case,” said the President in the press conference on February 7. “But would it have some effect? Yes.”

Jokowi also announced that he had held two meetings that exclusively discuss the corruption perception index. He pledged that the meeting will produce reports that will be a guideline for future improvements. 

As reported on Monday, the president summoned the National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairperson Firli Bahuri, and Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin to the meeting.

Transparency International Indonesia (TII) published its corruption perception index score, in which Indonesia dropped from 38 points in 2021 to 34 points in 2022. Prior to the issuance of this report, a number of State Ministers had issued controversial statements that gave the impression that the government did not fully support the corruption eradication efforts in Indonesia.

Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian had also previously made a public statement that urged authorities to not investigate regional leaders. Tito's and Luhut's statements attracted strong criticism from the public. 

Mahfud said that he would be meeting the President again in the next three days to invite state officials and organizations that actively contribute to the country’s corruption eradication efforts. 

FAJAR PEBRIANTO

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News