Thursday, 4 July 2024 – In this hybrid seminar, Professor Mahfud MD discussed the effects of corruption and how effective law enforcement would be crucial in curbing corrupt practices within Indonesia’s government. He also explored the systematic challenges Indonesia would face in achieving its Grand Indonesia 2045 vision.
INDONESIA STUDIES PROGRAMME SEMINAR
ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute (ISEAS) invited Professor Mahfud MD, (former Coordinating Minister for Politics, Legal and Security Affairs; currently Professor of Law in the Faculty of Law, Indonesian Islamic University Yogyakarta) to share his observations on the progress on democracy, corruption eradication, and law enforcement within Indonesia’s institutions. Dr Yanuar Nugroho, Senior Visiting Fellow of the Indonesia Studies Programme at ISEAS, moderated this seminar.
Professor Mahfud began by giving a brief history of Indonesia’s road to democracy. He cited a few key milestones across Indonesia’s history, stating that the proclamation of independence on 17 August 1945, followed by the embedding of Pancasila as the state ideology, had facilitated democracy to take root within Indonesia’s political system. To ensure that the government upholds the principle of nomocracy in the constitution, the forefathers of Indonesia had also established institutions to maintain a single, free and independent judicative power. The Supreme Court, Constitutional Court and the Judicial Commission were founded with the intention of maintaining justice and legal integrity within the Indonesian government. Professor Mahfud believed that for democracy to work effectively, the rule of law must be firmly upheld. This will in turn strengthen leaders’ accountability to the people.
Professor Mahfud elaborated on corruption in Indonesia, citing the Reformasi era as a key milestone for corruption eradication efforts. While there were notable results in combating corruption in the initial stages of Reformasi, it re-emerged in the early 2000s due to weak regulatory frameworks and rising transactional politics. The rise of an “oligarchic” system where power was concentrated among a few individuals also led to the proliferation of corrupt practices. Professor Mahfud highlighted that democracy during that time had become merely procedural.
Apart from that, law enforcement has also faced regression over the years, especially with the rise of legal cases being mishandled due to corruption within law enforcement agencies. High-profile cases involving privileged individuals often faced legal obstacles, with these large-scale corruption cases being dismissed through collusion. This happened despite many regulatory frameworks put in place to improve the quality of democracy and governance. Professor Mahfud believed that the lack of legal culture led to poor rule enforcement. Therefore, to reduce corruption among those in power, the regulations must be properly implemented.
Professor Mahfud concluded with his thoughts on the country’s challenges in achieving its Golden Vision 2045. He listed some key obstacles such as a weak political system, poor law enforcement, and the uneven distribution of the quality of governance across Indonesia. The country would need to implement strategic reforms to improve governance, and to promote legal reform and socio-economic development to reach its goal within the next two decades. Professor Mahfud also expressed hopes that president-elect Prabowo Subianto could lead Indonesia to realise this grand vision. Even though he was one of Prabowo’s competitors during the 2024 presidential elections, Professor Mahfud believed that with Prabowo’s experience and character, Prabowo would be able to implement the necessary reforms.
This hybrid seminar drew an in-person audience of 47 participants and 78 online participants from Singapore and abroad. During the Question-and-Answer session, questions included those on expectations of Prabowo’s new administration, the possibility of digitalisation improving transparency within law enforcement, the rewriting of history, and the onset of corruption within the government institutions. Professor Mahfud addressed most of the questions, stating that he believed in Prabowo’s ability to bring about changes given that he is a structuralist and a leader who believed strongly in “hierarchy”. Based on his understanding of Prabowo, Professor Mahfud believed he would most likely focus on corruption eradication and improving law enforcement for achieving higher economic growth. As for digitalisation, Professor Mahfud commented that the government had committed to implementing e-government. However, it still did not work as expected, mainly because each agency had its own data storage system and there was a lack of data-sharing. Also, agencies were used to dealing with their preferred vendors directly, making collaboration challenging. As for eradicating corruption within state institutions, Professor Mahfud believed that it is important to ensure substantive democracy and responsive laws in courts. This will need improvement in the recruitment processes of government officials. Embedding moral values and ethics in the formation of subsequent laws was one way to increase the credibility of Indonesian courts.
