Minister Yusril: Legal Frameworks Alone Cannot Eradicate Corruption Without Ethical Awareness

Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections (Menko Kumham Imipas) Yusril Ihza Mahendra has assessed that eradicating corruption in Indonesia will not succeed if it relies solely on legal regulations and enforcement agencies without fostering ethical and moral awareness within society. According to Yusril, Indonesia already possesses adequate legal instruments, ranging from laws and law enforcement officers to specialised institutions such as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Corruption Court. However, corrupt practices continue to occur. “I think the problem is not the absence of legal norms, nor the absence of law enforcement institutions. What is missing is ethical awareness, moral awareness,” Yusril said during a speech at the inauguration of Cetiya Tian Shi Hua Guan Di Jing Se in Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK), North Jakarta, on Sunday. Yusril, who has spent decades studying constitutional law from being a student to becoming a professor, said his long experience as a minister in the legal field involved in drafting various laws and regulations has led him to realise that law enforcement alone is insufficient. “I have drafted hundreds of laws. I have been involved in creating various institutions, expanding investigative powers, establishing the KPK, and forming the Corruption Court. But why does corruption still occur? In fact, it is getting worse,” he stated. He stressed that ethical awareness cannot be built merely through a constitution or legislation but must be based on ethical consciousness rooted in the religious beliefs that thrive in the country. Yusril expressed pessimism that the country could be completely free from corruption, manipulation, and bribery in a short time. “If I am asked now whether we can build a state with legal certainty and justice without corruption, without manipulation, without bribery in a short time, I am pessimistic. I say it might take one or two generations to instil this issue,” he concluded.