Corruption Seen as Main Factor Behind Low National Productivity

Constitutional law expert Prof. Zainal Arifin Mochtar has highlighted a problem in the public sphere. He said spaces for meeting and deliberation are becoming increasingly scarce, so citizens only gather in groups that have agreed with one another from the outset.

Prof. Zainal made the remarks during a discussion forum held at Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, on Monday, 31 August 2026.

“Digital conversation spaces are filled with noise and information that is never tested, so information never grows into knowledge,” said Prof. Zainal.

He argued that university research findings, which should serve as material for public debate, are also difficult for citizens to access. When both spaces are closed off, citizens lose the most basic tool for demanding accountability, and the democratic rights that should guarantee economic improvement are stripped away first.

“Data and information are our weapons against authoritarianism. An authoritarian state will bombard its citizens with claims of a single truth through speeches,” he said.

Meanwhile, economist Wijayanto Samirin said the government celebrates growth figures while the public faces continually rising staple food prices, waves of layoffs, and increasingly difficult job prospects, especially for young people.

According to Wijayanto, a number of indicators used by the government employ overly loose measures.

“For example, anyone who works one hour in a week is already counted as employed, and the level of inequality is still calculated from household expenditure, even though many countries have shifted to calculating it from income. As a result, the figures can improve without any real improvement being felt,” said Wijayanto.

“There is a disconnect between the data and narratives and reality. The numbers are polished to look good,” he added.

Andalas University economics professor Prof. Syafruddin Karimi identified corruption, collusion and nepotism as the main causes of low national productivity.

He said such practices are no longer centralised as they were during the New Order era, but have spread to almost every point of transaction, from large projects to the smallest licensing matters.

“The most dangerous thing is its normalisation, because no one feels the need to be angry anymore. As long as that circle is allowed to continue, productivity will keep lagging behind the claimed growth rate, and the rupiah exchange rate will remain fragile because what actually underpins it is the real sector,” he said.