Right after Joko
Widodo was elected president of the Republic of Indonesia in the 2014
presidential elections, he together with his team made a proposal for the
appointment of the new chief of the national police. Recently, it was found out
that the person chosen for this position, Budi Gunawan, is a suspect of
corruption. As a reaction to this news, the President decided to cancel the
appointment of Budi Gunawan. The peace of the Indonesian political scene was
stirred after the finding of Budi Gunawan’s involvement in corruption. In
addition, many politicians, including members of Jokowi’s party, are against
his decision. Some of the most notorious Indonesian politicians have manifested
their opinion against Jokowi’s determination. They believe that it would be
more effective to put Budi Gunawan out of the police due to his suspicion of
involvement in bribery (Muhamad Rizki,
Syailendra, Tika Primandari, Muhammad Muhyiddin | Indri Maulidar| Anton A). Even
though the cancellation appointment of Budi Gunawan has given rise to a great
legal controversy, it is an effective measure against corruption because it
shows that the government does not tolerate any case of corruption whatsoever,
keeps the integrity of the government, and stops high level corruption thus
drastically decreasing generalized corruption in society.
To begin with,
the president’s election to cancel the appointment of Budi Gunawan is an
effective action against corruption because it shows that the government does
not tolerate any case of corruption whatsoever. That is, it makes people
involved in corruption afraid because they see that the government is strict
regarding corruption and truly fights it. If the government did not do anything
about the suspicion of Budi Gunawan’s corruption practices, then the other
people who are doing so would continue and even worse more people would join
that kind of practices. This is especially important for Jokowi who is just beginning
as president. If he is not firm enough, he might lose credibility.
Secondly, this
decision is the right one because it keeps the integrity of the Government.
Making a comparison, it is like trying to sweep a room using a dirty broom. If
the broom is dirty, then how are you going to clean the room? It is impossible.
That is why everybody working in Government positions must be totally clean
from any shadow of corruption, especially people working in the police. The
Government is an institution which is established to serve society and be an
example of virtues like justice for every citizen. People working for the
Government must be virtuous ones, and that is why Jokowi has taken the right
decision.
Third and last,
the proposal of changing the chief police is a wise one because if high level
corruption is stopped, then it is easier to stop generalized corruption in
society. A problem in Indonesia according to experts is that corruption is a
generalized practice. When you ask somebody why he bribes the police, for
example, he will answer that even the police officials do bribing. Therefore,
it is clear that if people occupying high positions stop doing it, then other
people will more likely stop doing it too. Besides, when high level people are
involved in corruption, they are involved in cases where huge amounts of money
are being handled, so a big number of people have to participate too. For
example, if a city major wants to get some money from an infrastructure
project, he will need the collaboration of many more people working together
with him and thus corruption will be spread.
To sum up, Joko
Widodo is proving to be a person with integrity who is firm against corruption.
The decision to change the appointment of Budi Gunawan is one of the best
actions taken against corruption in the Republic of Indonesia in the last
years. Since this is only the beginning of Jokowi’s presidential turn, people
have the hope that many other good actions are going to be taken by him.
