Transparency International has announced its 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and declared that the world’s fight against corruption is at a standstill. The average global score remains at 43, the same as it has been for the past ten years. Out of a high of 100 points, this average is disappointing. The score has not improved because of the 180 countries included in the index, 131 of them have made no significant progress, despite their expressed commitments. As for Indonesia, its score has inched up one point to 38, still well below the Asia Pacific average score of 45. In ASEAN, Indonesia ranks 4th, just 3 points behind Malaysia’s score of 48, which ranks 2nd in the index. Singapore remains unassailable in the region with a score of 85, despite many Indonesians questioning the reasonableness of this high score.
It would be unrealistic to expect that Indonesia would be able to recover its 2019 score of 40, but nevertheless, the score has improved, albeit by just one point. What has it done right? It seems that the government’s efforts to improve the investment climate and be more business-friendly have delivered positive results. Out of the nine indices used in creating the composite CPI, the three related to bribery risks faced by businessmen have improved significantly, particularly the Global Insight country risk rating in which Indonesia jumped 12 points, from 35 in 2020 to 47 in 2021. Indonesia’s score in the WEF Executive Opinion Survey also jumped 7 points, from 46 to 53. Indonesia also picked up a point in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook. The score in all the other indices which look at public service delivery, political corruption, abuse of public resources, or the rule of law remained either stagnant or has dropped. In other words, these are the indices concerned with our democracy.
Should the government continue to just focus on accommodating business interests to improve the economy? The temptation is surely there, given the current government’s determination to leave a legacy of developing the country’s infrastructure and becoming the world’s fourth biggest economy by 2045, with a brand-new capital city to boot. Such ambitions require popular support and oversight, particularly when according to the latest Edelman Trust Barometer, the people’s trust in governments globally has fallen. According to their trust index, citizens in the world’s major democracies, such as Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, South Korea, and the US do not trust their governments. Democratic institutions are no longer trusted, whilst governments and the media are seen as divisive forces in society.
While these countries are the biggest losers in the trust index, China, the UAE, and Thailand are the biggest gainers. China ranks top in the trust index with a score of 83, followed by the UAE (76) with Indonesia coming in third (75), suggesting that strong governments are more trusted. As highlighted in the findings, “there is a collapse of trust in democracies.” No doubt, this has a lot to do with how governments have managed the covid-19 pandemic.
Even if during the past year, democracies around the globe have failed us in addressing much of society’s ills, we should remember the words of Winston Churchill: “democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” In the case of Indonesia, in our 76 years of independence, we have tried many forms of government, the longest being Soeharto’s authoritarian New Order. In 1998, however, as a nation, we opted for democracy and have steadily built the institutions to safeguard our new-found civil liberties and protect them from the abuses of power and privilege.
As shown by the latest CPI score, even though we have made great strides in creating a better business environment, even though we have improved the score by a single point, Indonesia’s score will continue to flounder below the global average. Why? Because fighting corruption is also about respecting human rights, upholding the rule of law, and strengthening our democratic institutions.
At the moment, the Jokowi government is riding high. Public confidence in the President seems unassailable and his coalition government is strong, with virtually no opposition. Under such circumstances, it becomes even more important for civil society to consolidate and be an effective mechanism for checks and balances. Otherwise, we risk becoming victims of egregious political corruption as politicians begin to maneuver for resources to finance their political ambitions in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. We need to hold those in power to account. We cannot do so if our civil liberties are not protected.
Natalia Soebagjo
Bali resident & writer
