Commission IX of Parliament Supports Health Minister in Enlisting KPK to Uncover Alleged Medicine Price Corruption
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has signed a cooperation agreement with the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) to investigate alleged corruption in Indonesia’s health sector, specifically addressing why medicine prices remain expensive. Vice Chair of Commission IX of Parliament Yahya Zaini expressed support for the Health Minister’s initiative.
“I support the Health Minister’s efforts to reduce medicine prices so they become more affordable. This includes reducing opportunities for corruption by signing a memorandum of understanding with the KPK. Ideally, this cooperation should not only involve enforcement but also, more importantly, focus on prevention,” Yahya told reporters on Friday, 13 March 2026.
The Golkar politician noted that one factor contributing to Indonesia’s high medicine prices is that 90% of pharmaceutical raw materials are still imported, particularly from China and India. He stressed that dependence on imported raw materials makes the supply chain vulnerable to global disruptions.
“If the US dollar strengthens, the cost of raw materials also increases, which directly impacts domestic medicine prices. Currently, with the conflict in the Middle East, the rupiah’s exchange rate continues to weaken. This will directly affect pharmaceutical raw material prices,” he explained.
Driving the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry
Yahya subsequently urged the government to develop a domestic pharmaceutical raw materials industry. He emphasised that cooperation between the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Science and Technology, Higher Education and the Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) is essential.
“We cannot remain dependent on imported raw materials indefinitely. It is time for serious innovation through research and development. We must move towards self-reliance in pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical raw materials,” he stated.
“To reduce medicine prices, attention must also be paid to ensuring import tariffs on pharmaceutical raw materials are not excessively high—indeed, they should be minimised where possible to protect the public,” he concluded.
Health Minister Enlists KPK
It is understood that Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin suspects the high cost of medicines in Indonesia is linked to potential systemic corruption in the health industry. He has requested the KPK’s assistance in investigating the matter.
The Health Minister raised this during remarks at the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia and the KPK concerning efforts to combat corruption in the health sector, held at the Health Ministry building in Jakarta on Wednesday, 11 March.
Budi highlighted that one of the most frequently raised public complaints concerns medicine prices in Indonesia being significantly higher than in other countries, including Malaysia.
“Perhaps the most commonly felt issue among the public is expensive medicines. Compared with Malaysia, our prices can be 3 to 5 times higher,” Budi said in his remarks.