Concerns over rising tolerance towards corruption in Indonesia

Study finds nearly half of voters were offered bribes; experts say such practices are deeply rooted

- Hariz Baliavadin

Nearly one in two voters admitted to having been offered bribes during the elections in February, according to a recent study conducted by Indonesia's official statistics board. It also found an increasing tolerance towards corruption in South-east Asia's largest country.

These findings signal a worsening trend if stronger countermeasures are not swiftly implemented, experts warned, adding that poverty and a lack of education in the country were exacerbating the issue.

On July 15, official statistics board Statistics Indonesia (BPS). said in a report on its website that in the lead-up to the Feb 14 elections, more than 46 per cent of voters were offered money, goods or facilities to choose certain candidates.

The study did not say how many accepted such bribes during the polls, in which more than 200 million people registered to vote for a new president, legislators and other leaders.

The same report also said the country's anti-graft index slipped to its lowest level since 2021, from 3.93 to 3.85, well below the government's target of 4.1.

This index measures how permissive people are towards corrupt practices. A score of five indicates a strong rejection of graft, while zero represents a high tolerance for it. This figure was 3.92 in 2023, and 3.93 in 2022.

The BPS findings reflect how there is an understanding in Indonesia that corruption is widely accepted and even expected, Associate Professor Yohanes Sulaiman from Jenderal Achmad Yani University told The Straits Times.

"If (candidates) want their votes, they have to pay a certain amount of money. Is it problematic? Yes, but at the same time, people are used to it. That's why corruption is seen as ingrained," he said.