Yusril: Corruption Cannot Be Eradicated by Law Alone

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra believes that eradicating corruption in Indonesia will not succeed if it relies solely on legal rules and law enforcement agencies, without being accompanied by the development of ethical and moral awareness in society. According to Yusril, Indonesia already has 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 said his long experience as a minister in the field of law, heavily involved in drafting various laws and regulations, made him realise that law enforcement alone is insufficient to eradicate corruption. “I have drafted hundreds of laws. I helped create various institutions, expanded investigative authority, established the KPK, and set up the Corruption Court. But why has corruption not been eradicated to this day? It is actually getting worse,” he said. He stressed that moral awareness cannot be built solely through the constitution or legislation, but must rest on ethical values sourced from religious teachings. “I studied constitutional law for decades, from being an ordinary lecturer to becoming a professor. But I know that the Constitution, laws, government regulations, whatever we create, are meaningless if the state is not built on an ethical foundation that must be constructed based on the religious beliefs that live and thrive in our homeland,” Yusril said. Therefore, Yusril is of the view that ethical education must be instilled from an early age to produce a generation that obeys the law not merely out of fear of sanctions, but because they are driven by their conscience. “If I am asked now, can we build a state with legal certainty and justice, free from corruption, manipulation, and bribery, in a short time? I am pessimistic. I would say it might take one or two generations to instil this matter,” he said. He added that building an anti-corruption culture must start with strong character education so that society possesses ethical awareness as a foundation for obeying the law. “Let the current generation slowly pass, but we must start with education from childhood. In our schools, we must provide solid ethical teaching so that a future generation is born that is obedient to ethics and the law, not because they fear the police, prosecutors, or the KPK, but because they fear their own conscience,” he concluded.