KOMPAS EDITORS’ CHOICE > THE HIJACKED DREAMS OF ‘REFORMASI’
April 4, 2016 15:02 GMT+7
The corruption of public policy
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Reformasi, which aimed to rearrange a corrupt system, is now controlled by a business-political complex that exploits public policy for its own corporate interests. If left unchecked, this will monopolize the power of national competition while simultaneously expanding the social and economic divide in the country.The arrest of the head of the Jakarta Provincial Legislative Council’s Commission D, M Sanusi of the Gerinda faction, by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), on Thursday last week, testifies to the existence of this business-political complex in the field of public policy. Sanusi is suspected of receiving Rp 2.14 billion in two stages from PT Agung Podomoro Land (PT APLN), in connection with discussions over regulations of the coastal and small islands reclamation projects in North Jakarta. In this case, the KPK has named three suspects, namely M Sanusi, Trinanda Prihantoro, an employee of PT APLN, and Ariesman Widjaja, the president director of PT APLN. The KPK has also prohibited the chairman of the Agung Sedayu Group, Sugianto Kusuma, alias Aguan, from leaving the country.