Corruption in Buying and Selling Positions

Compiled by: Faiza Nurul Azmy 1111200330

Correction by: Rozanah Nushrotina

Background

Corruption is any act committed by a person to fulfil one’s desires or the desires of others by
abusing authority and harming the state. In 2020, Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) recorded
that there were 1 Four hundred forty-four cases of corruption crimes that occurred in Indonesia,
and there were 127 regional heads affected by corruption criminal cases, the number of which
continues to grow until now. The reasons and methods of corruption of regional authorities vary
from buying and selling positions misuse of infrastructure funds, to bribery bribes. One of the
regional heads affected by crime is the Regent of Probolinggo, namely Puput Tantriana Sari and
her husband Hasan Aminuddin, who is the Deputy Speaker IV of the House of Representatives;
the crime of corruption committed by this married couple is buying and selling positions in
Probolinggo.

Body

a. Corruption

Corruption is an unlawful act committed to benefit oneself and harm others. According to law
number 31 of 1999 jo, law number 20 of 2001 concerning the eradication of criminal acts of
corruption, it involves acts to enrich oneself or others, or corruption that results in harming the
state or the country's economy. Corruption is a dishonorable act, but there are still many people
who commit corruption. Officials participate in corruption. Even corruption committed by
officials occurs in government institutions, not only in the central government, but it also occurs
at almost all levels of government. It is unfortunate considering the ongoing occurrence of
corruption in Indonesia. The enforcement of corruption in Indonesia also tends to decrease based
on the records of Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW): In 2015, there were 550 cases of
corruption and 1,124.suspects. In 2016, there were 482 cases of crime and 1,101 suspects; in
2017, there were 576 cases of corruption and 1,298 suspects; in 2018, there were 454 cases with
1,087 suspects; in 2019, there were 271 cases and suspects reached 580 people, in 2020 there
were 444 cases and 875 suspects. According to ICW data researchers, this finding shows the

1
CNN Indonesia. (2021, August 15). ICW: There were 444 corruption cases throughout

2020, the state lost Rp18 T. National; cnnindonesia.com.

https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20210815163442-12-680645/icw-ada-444-

kasus-korupsi-sepanjang-2020-negara-rugi-rp18-t
fragility of supervision of government budget management because, judging from the value of
state losses in 2020, the figure is very significant.

b. Forms of corruption

There are seven major groups of acts that include corruption, namely.2:

1. State financial losses

Committing acts against the law and abusing authority for oneself or others can harm the
state.
2. Bribery
They were giving or promising something to a public servant, intending that the civil
servant does something in his position contrary to the obligation.
3. Embezzlement in office
Embezzlement committed by the person holding the goods is related to his position or
because he gets wages, such as civil servants committing forgery of administrative books.
4. Extortion
Public servants, with their power, force someone to give something, pay or accept
payment. Public servants at the time of performing duties, requesting or obtaining
employment, or delivery of goods.
5. Cheating
 Contractors, builders at the time of building construction, or sellers of building
materials who, when delivering building materials, commit fraudulent acts that
may endanger the security of persons or goods or the safety of the country in a
state of war. It means that his actions can affect the safety of others, such as
building materials purchased deliberately that are of poor quality.
 Everyone who is in charge of supervising the construction or delivery of building
materials deliberately allows the above fraudulent acts
 any person who, at the time of handing over goods needed by the Indonesian
National Army and/or the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia, commits
fraudulent acts that can endanger the safety of the country in a state of war

2
Christha, R. (2022). Bentuk-Bentuk Korupsi dan Aturannya di Indonesia. Retrieved

November 2, 2023, from hukumonline.com website:

https://www.hukumonline.com/klinik/a/bentuk-bentuk-korupsi-dan-aturannya-di-

indonesia-lt5e6247a037c3a/.

‌
  any person in charge of supervising the delivery of goods needed by the
Indonesian National Army and/or the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia
deliberately allows the above fraudulent acts.
6. Conflict of interest in procurement
Circumstances in which a public servant knowingly participates in the procurement he
manages.
7. Gratuities
Public servants related to their position/authority receive gratuities and do not report to
the KPK within 30 days.

In the large group of corruption acts above, corruption in buying and selling positions can include
bribery, which, if committed, will be punishable by a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a
maximum fine of Rp. 250,000,000.00 based on article 5 of Law 20/2001 paragraph 1.

c. Buying and selling positions

Indonesia itself has made countermeasures related to corruption crimes with the establishment of
the KPK; the establishment of the KPK also did not make corruptors afraid, or immediately
corruption disappeared from Indonesia. One of the government officials who committed
corruption was Puput Tantriana Sari, the regent of Probolinggo. Her husband Hasan Aminuddin,
who was the Deputy Speaker IV of the House of Representatives, committed corruption related to
the sale and purchase of village head positions by accepting bribes along with two other people,
namely Muhammad Ridwan and Doddy Kurniawan, in his case; also the KPK not only arrested
the Regent of Probolinggo and her husband but there were 18 other people suspected of being
bribers. Suspects as bribe recipients are considered to have violated Article 12 letter a, Article 12
letter b or Article 11 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Corruption
Criminal Acts, which have been amended by Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning Amendments
to Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Corruption Criminal Acts jo Article 55
paragraph 1. The potential for abuse of authority in regional heads related to buying and selling
positions is often associated with the support given during provincial elections. Article 53 of Law
Number 5 of 20143 The state civil apparatus is also dragged into the issue of buying and selling
positions because this article states that the president, as the holder of the highest authority for the
development of civil servants, can delegate the power to determine the appointment, transfer, and
dismissal of officials other than the principal and intermediate high leadership officials, and
functional officials of the primary expertise. The delegation of presidential authority to the
Minister and his subordinates reaches the regents/mayors in the districts/cities. In other words,
the article gives head to political officials over the establishment, appointment, transfer, and

3
Gaudensius Suhardi. (2021). Jual-Beli Jabatan. Https://Mediaindonesia.com/.
https://mediaindonesia.com/podiums/detail_podiums/2130-jual-beli-jabatan
dismissal of civil servants. According to Jack Bologne in GONE Theory, the factors causing
corruption are greed, opportunity, need, and disclosure.4 Here are some factors of corruption:

Habitual Factors

Corruption in Indonesia has been considered a habit or a common thing and even a culture in
Indonesia. One of the causes of corruption that occurs a lot in Indonesia is the culture in
Indonesia itself, which is still money-oriented, causing many people to compete to get money
without thinking about where it comes from. According to Robert Merton's Means-Ends Scheme
theory5, social pressure is the cause of corruption, making the perpetrators commit violations of
norms. Seeing other people around who commit corruption and are used to it can also be a factor
that causes corruption because they think that this is normal.

Dynastic politics

Dynastic politics often occurs in Indonesia if the power or position owned/held/carried out still
has blood or family relations, for example, the Regent of Probolinggo and her husband, who are
still related by blood.

Weak Control

Weak control is carried out by the government because, in each ministry, there is already an
inspector general in charge of supervising and evaluating potential abuse.

Weak accountability

Accountability is an obligation of responsibility that must be achieved; accountability can be in

the form of knowledge and accountability for every action, product, and decision so that it can be
approved or rejected. And the lack of transparency of regional assets and regional budgets.

Political Cost

The high cost of entering into politics can also be a factor in corruption—starting from the
successful team that must be owned and promotional prices such as making billboards, flyers,
and money distributed to the community as support money. When elected, officials will think
about how to make money that is invested in elections, regional elections, and others to return
and make a profit.

Oligarchic Factors

4
Directorate General of Corrections. (2023). Theories of corruption.
http://www.ditjenpas.go.id/teori-teori-korupsi

5
Lumbantoruan, R. (2017). The Big Data, Academic Data University. Fundamental Management
Journal, 2(1), 57-66.
The existence of the power of a group of people held by a group of people or a handful of people
but has a dominant force. Oligarchic politics usually occurs because there is a group of political
parties that have their interests.

With some of the factors mentioned above, it can be concluded that the sale of positions carried
out by the Regent of Probolinggo and her husband is due to oligarchic factors and dynastic
politics that make a habit when wanting to have an appointment or be elected as a government
official, it will bribe people who have higher ranks.

Conclusion

Corruption in Indonesia is a significant issue that needs to be addressed. The recent scandal
involving the Regent of Probolinggo and her husband highlights the disgraceful act of buying and
selling positions for personal gains. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, and it's
alarming that corruption has been considered a habit by the perpetrators for a long time.
However, the government has taken steps to combat corruption by establishing the KPK. It's a
significant move, but more needs to be done. The KPK must be empowered to go after corrupt
officials, regardless of their positions. The government should also create awareness campaigns
to educate the public on the adverse effects of corruption on society. In the case of buying and
selling positions, the KPK should collaborate with KASN and local governments to provide
counselling sessions to understand the importance of building a clean government system free
from corruption, collusion, and nepotism. It's only by working together that we can root out
corruption and build a better future for our country. The corruption committed by the Regent of
Probolinggo and her husband and colleagues, who bought and sold positions for village leaders,
is a disgraceful act. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident in Indonesia, where corruption
takes many forms, such as providing capital for elections (Pilkada) and dividing benefits equally
among investors if elected. Corruption has long been a habit among perpetrators in Indonesia, but
the government has responded by creating the KPK to counter it. In cases of buying and selling
positions, the KPK collaborates with KASN and local governments to provide counselling on the
importance of building a government system that is free from corruption, collusion, and
nepotism.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CNN Indonesia. (2021, August 15). ICW: There were 444 corruption cases throughout 2020, the

state lost Rp18 T. National; cnnindonesia.com.

https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20210815163442-12-680645/icw-ada-444-kasus-

korupsi-sepanjang-2020-negara-rugi-rp18-t
Erdianto, K. (2021, April 18). ICW: The trend of prosecuting corruption cases for the 2015-2020

period tends to decrease. KOMPAS.com; Kompas.com.

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/04/18/16135731/icw-tren-penindakan-kasus-

korupsi-periode-2015-2020-cenderung-turun

Christha, R. (2022). Forms of Corruption and Their Rules in Indonesia. Retrieved November 2,

2023, from hukumonline.com website: https://www.hukumonline.com/klinik/a/bentuk-

bentuk-korupsi-dan-aturannya-di-indonesia-lt5e6247a037c3a/.

Gaudensius Suhardi. (2021). Jual-Beli Jabatan. Https://Mediaindonesia.com/.

https://mediaindonesia.com/podiums/detail_podiums/2130-jual-beli-jabatan

Directorate General of Corrections. (2023). Theories of corruption. http://www.ditjenpas.go.id/teori-teori-korupsi

Lumbantoruan, R. (2017). The Big Data, Academic Data University. Fundamental Management
Journal, 2(1), 57-66.