20% PAD Allocation for Regional Heads Will Not Prevent Corruption, Says Researcher
PENELITI Pusat Studi Anti Korupsi (SAKSI) Universitas Mulawarman (Unmul) Herdiansyah Hamzah has criticised the proposal by the House of Representatives’ Commission II to provide additional financial rights of up to 20% of locally-generated revenue (PAD) for regional heads. The man familiarly known as Castro considers the argument that the proposal is intended to prevent corruption due to high political costs to be misguided and off-target. Castro stressed that equating the root cause of corruption with low wages or financial facilities for officials is a mistaken perspective.
“If the practice of corruption is understood to be solvable by raising wages or providing additional financial rights, I think that will not resolve the issue. No matter how large the salary, remuneration, or other forms of financial compensation, it cannot resolve the problem of corruption because corruption is a matter of mentality and systems,” Castro said when contacted on Thursday (2/7).
Castro cited examples of several state institutions that have already received high incomes through remuneration schemes or increases in position allowances, such as officials in the Ministry of Finance and judges. He noted that the large salaries and allowances received by employees in the Directorate General of Taxes have proven unable to curb rampant corrupt practices within that institution. Likewise, significant increases in position allowances and financial facilities for judges in recent years have not succeeded in sweeping away corruption cases within the judiciary.
Therefore, Castro considers it a grave mistake to treat the 20% PAD allocation as a form of legitimacy or a regulatory shield to cover up the potential for corruption by spoiling regional officials financially. He further criticised the parliament’s argument that this incentive increase is aimed at covering the large capital outlay of regional heads due to high political costs in direct local elections. He likened the policy to “scratching the back when the head itches,” because it addresses the problem downstream rather than at its source.
“If the political cost is high, it is not the financial rights downstream that should be increased, but rather the political cost upstream that should be cut. Do not cover up the downstream effects; the root of the problem must be resolved, in this case by cutting the political costs themselves,” he asserted.
Castro urged the state and law enforcement to focus on fixing the upstream democratic process, particularly the governance of political parties. Political parties are demanded to be professional in carrying out internal cadre formation and raising public political awareness. If political parties can operate cleanly without dowries, electoral contests will shift to a battle of ideas, concepts, and programmes, rather than a contest of financial strength.
“If political parties are competent in cadre formation, if political parties are competent in raising public political awareness, I think the political costs can be cut. So people compete not based on capital strength, but based on ideas, concepts, programmes, and so on. That is what must be cut, not by increasing additional financial rights, salaries, or whatever they are called,” he said.