Jakarta. The three contenders for the February 14 presidential election on Wednesday offered different strategies to combat rampant corruption while sharing the commitment to fully supporting the work of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The remarks from Anies Baswedan, Prabowo Subianto, and Ganjar Pranowo were delivered during an unprecedented meeting hosted by the KPK in Jakarta.

Prabowo lauded KPK’s multifaceted approach to fighting corruption, encompassing educational initiatives, preventive measures, and anti-graft raids. However, the frontrunner candidate said corruption will persist if state officials holding big responsibilities are poorly paid.

"In my opinion, we must take realistic measures to improve the quality of life of our decision-makers in the government, especially those entrusted with big budgets,” he said.

Prabowo pointed to developed countries like the United States and the United Kingdom where judges are handsomely paid to dissuade bribery.

"That’s what I describe as a comprehensive and realistic approach. Public office holders who are responsible for big budgets must be treated decently in terms of their quality of life and salaries," he said.

If necessary, Indonesian courts may adopt a legal concept known as the reversed burden of proof, under which the burden to prove corrupt practices is shifted to the accused, Prabowo said.

In addition, all high-ranking state officials must be obliged to file their financial disclosures honestly, or else they will face immediate dismissals, the defense minister said.

Speaking on the same occasion, Ganjar emphasized the importance of digitalization in the financial system to prevent corruption, because “cash transactions are hard to trace and monitor”.

The digitalized system in state procurement and budget formulation prevents in-person transactions while ensuring more effective supervision, said the former Central Java governor.

“And of course, we must guarantee budget transparency with clear explanations about the source of the money and how it will be spent under the control of the commander in chief,” Ganjar said.

Additionally, the Indonesian justice system must protect the confidentiality of whistleblowers in corruption cases, he said.

For his part, Anies vowed to reinforce a greater authority for the KPK to combat corruption.

“We want to return the KPK to an institution which has a greater power in the crackdown on corruption,” Anies said. “We want the KPK to become as powerful as it used to be. That being said, we want to amend the KPK law.”

The Joko Widodo government and the current members of the House of Representatives amended the KPK law several years ago by recruiting all KPK employees as civil servants.

Critics said the amendment fundamentally changed KPK’s status as an independent law enforcement agency, thus diminishing its authority in investigating corruption cases involving government officials.

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