Observer Stresses Internal Party Reform in Political Recruitment
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Executive Director of Indonesia Political Review Iwan Setiawan has stressed the importance of improving political parties' internal systems to avoid fielding immature regional head candidates.
"What political parties must do is reform their internal systems. The system I mean is democracy within the party, a properly implemented tiered cadre system, and avoiding the promotion of legislative and executive candidates who are instant cadres based merely on connections, wealth and popularity, as this will produce leaders who are politically and morally immature," he said when contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Iwan said regional head candidates endorsed by political parties must undergo proper cadre development stages, and candidates need to be tested for their intellectual capacity, mental fortitude and leadership ability.
"Their integrity must be tested, and their leadership capabilities must be proven. Money politics should not originate from within the political parties themselves," he said.
According to him, the first step should be reforming the political recruitment system rather than the current regional election system. He affirmed that the problem of money politics in regional elections originates from political parties.
"In my view, what needs to change first is not the regional election system, but the political parties themselves need to be cleansed and reformed. Whether through the Political Parties Law or other regulations. Because the root of the problem is political parties, and money politics originates from parties that remain dysfunctional," he said.
Previously, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Bima Arya Sugiarto said that an evaluation of political recruitment in regional elections needs to be conducted to curb the high number of corruption cases ensnaring regional heads in Indonesia.
Bima stated that the government has undertaken numerous measures to suppress corruption cases, but corrupt practices continue to increase.
"We have run out of words regarding the number of regional heads committing corruption, as all regional heads have been warned and retreats have also been held," he said after a book discussion on "Babad Alas" at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Jember, East Java, on Friday (13 February).
Prevention measures, he added, have been implemented and instruments to suppress corruption in the regions are already in place, yet many regional heads continue to be ensnared in corruption cases.
"Therefore, a fundamental evaluation of political recruitment is needed, such as the mechanism for selecting regional heads, because appeals alone are not sufficient," he added.
According to Bima, the government needs to intensify digitalisation to monitor all transactions conducted on a cashless basis, as digital transactions can close loopholes for corrupt practices.
"So, to suppress the high rate of corruption committed by regional heads, bureaucratic measures alone are not enough — a renewal of the nation's political system for regional head elections is also required," he said.
"What political parties must do is reform their internal systems. The system I mean is democracy within the party, a properly implemented tiered cadre system, and avoiding the promotion of legislative and executive candidates who are instant cadres based merely on connections, wealth and popularity, as this will produce leaders who are politically and morally immature," he said when contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Iwan said regional head candidates endorsed by political parties must undergo proper cadre development stages, and candidates need to be tested for their intellectual capacity, mental fortitude and leadership ability.
"Their integrity must be tested, and their leadership capabilities must be proven. Money politics should not originate from within the political parties themselves," he said.
According to him, the first step should be reforming the political recruitment system rather than the current regional election system. He affirmed that the problem of money politics in regional elections originates from political parties.
"In my view, what needs to change first is not the regional election system, but the political parties themselves need to be cleansed and reformed. Whether through the Political Parties Law or other regulations. Because the root of the problem is political parties, and money politics originates from parties that remain dysfunctional," he said.
Previously, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Bima Arya Sugiarto said that an evaluation of political recruitment in regional elections needs to be conducted to curb the high number of corruption cases ensnaring regional heads in Indonesia.
Bima stated that the government has undertaken numerous measures to suppress corruption cases, but corrupt practices continue to increase.
"We have run out of words regarding the number of regional heads committing corruption, as all regional heads have been warned and retreats have also been held," he said after a book discussion on "Babad Alas" at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Jember, East Java, on Friday (13 February).
Prevention measures, he added, have been implemented and instruments to suppress corruption in the regions are already in place, yet many regional heads continue to be ensnared in corruption cases.
"Therefore, a fundamental evaluation of political recruitment is needed, such as the mechanism for selecting regional heads, because appeals alone are not sufficient," he added.
According to Bima, the government needs to intensify digitalisation to monitor all transactions conducted on a cashless basis, as digital transactions can close loopholes for corrupt practices.
"So, to suppress the high rate of corruption committed by regional heads, bureaucratic measures alone are not enough — a renewal of the nation's political system for regional head elections is also required," he said.