Corruption and Infidelity
The widespread practice of corruption and the difficulty in eradicating this social ill are not solely driven by greed. The seemingly unstoppable nature of corruption also appears linked to the carnal needs of men. Deputy Chairman of the KPK, Ibnu Basuki Widodo, revealed concerning data during a socialisation event on Strengthening Integrity and Anti-Corruption Practices at the Purwokerto District Court in Banyumas Regency, Central Java.
Corruptors often disguise the proceeds of corruption by channelling the money not only to their families but also to their mistresses. In various cases, illicit funds are typically given to relatives, used to purchase assets, donated to charities here and there, and spent on luxurious overseas holidays. But after all that, where does the abundant illicit money go? According to KPK data, male corruptors also disguise their corrupt proceeds by giving them to their mistresses.
On average, 81% of male corruptors channel their corrupt proceeds to their mistresses. These mistresses can be considered passive actors, meaning they merely receive and save the corruption money. Nevertheless, this does not mean that these passive recipients can freely enjoy the illicit funds given by wealthy men from corruption proceeds. How should we respond to the significant link between corruption and infidelity?
Infidelity
To date, society has generally assumed that most corruption proceeds are enjoyed by the corruptors’ families. We still remember how the families of corruptors benefited from corruption in the form of luxury cars, designer bags, luxury homes, and various other things beyond what they should afford. It is unimaginable how a civil servant in group III could have savings of hundreds of billions of rupiah, unless from a super-rich family or profitable business.
What the KPK has revealed about corruption and infidelity is actually a representation of the acute moral deficit occurring among corrupt officials. Although there are still honest officials far from lavish lifestyles, among those with greedy eyes who often glance at beautiful women around them, they cannot rely solely on their official income to attract and fund the lifestyle of their “kept women”. Corruption and infidelity seem to go hand in hand.
An official caught red-handed (OTT) or proven to have committed corruption is not just ordinary criminal news. This is a harsh slap, a tragic portrait of moral decadence where public money and people’s rights are exploited to satisfy forbidden romantic desires. Imagine the anger when hundreds of millions, even billions of rupiah—funds that should improve public services, village infrastructure, social assistance for the poor, honorary teacher salaries, healthcare services, or even procuring Qurans—are diverted to buy luxury bags, apartments, and facial treatments for mistresses.
Once again, what the KPK Deputy Chairman stated emphasises that corruption practices in this country run parallel with deviant lifestyles. It is highly ironic. Men who often hold honourable positions—public officials, bureaucrats, or company executives—turn out to have deviant secondary “needs”. The 81% figure is no small matter. It relates to the behaviour of the majority of male corruptors. This figure shows that corruption is not only committed for urgent personal economic needs but is driven by an infidelity lifestyle that defies common sense.
Infidelity here acts as both a trigger and a goal for corruptors. Illicit money is deliberately disguised through money laundering by channelling it to mistresses to make it hard to trace by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK). Without considering the risks, male officials recklessly commit corruption while enjoying tempting desires and experiences of infidelity. Infidelity is a worldly temptation hard to resist, and alarmingly, many officials feel no guilt in doing so.
Double Betrayal
The corruption proceeds channelled by 81% of male corruptors to their mistresses is actually a reflection of a sick nation. This is a distressing and disgusting fact. Imagine the heartbreak of the people when they see state money, which should be used for public facilities as the people’s right, turned into lubricant for illicit relationships. The infidelity of corrupt officials and their kept women is part of a worrying socio-political problem. Corruption is theft, and in this case, the spoils are used to pamper a lifestyle that destroys the nation’s morals.
The practice of corruption channelled to women who ruin other men’s lives is actually a form of double betrayal. First, they betray their oath of office and the state by taking public money for unlawful personal gain. Second, they betray their family, wife, and children, because the corruption proceeds and their motive for corruption are linked to their deviant sexual desires.
Tax money paid painstakingly by the people circulates in someone else’s bed. The state is forced to become a sort of sugar daddy for the mistresses of corrupt officials. When corruption proceeds committed by these officials…