Politics, Health, Law, Security

Dozens of KPK Employees Found Guilty in Prison Bribery Scandal

Dozens of KPK employees solicited illegal levies from detainees at three detention centers between 2018 and 2023. The scandal led to a decline in public trust in the anti-graft body, prompting calls for disciplinary action. The KPK’s supervisory council ruled that 78 employees must issue a public apology, while 12 others remain under investigation. The scandal involves significant amounts of money collected through a detainee and distributed among KPK employees, with one individual identified as the mastermind behind the illegal levies. The KPK has pledged to take decisive action against any staff involved, in accordance with the law. (Jakarta Post)

PDI-P May Become Opposition Party Again

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) signaled on Thursday it would be taking up the role of an opposition party to the future government, as presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto appeared poised to succeed President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. One day after Prabowo claimed victory in Wednesday’s presidential election, PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto hinted at the readiness of the party to go into opposition after being the largest party in the ruling coalition for the past 10 years. “During the PDI-P’s tenure outside the government in 2004 and 2009, we were highly appreciated for our role in improving the quality of democracy,” Hasto said, stressing that the party’s contributions when serving outside the governing coalition were “patriotic” in defense of the people’s interests.

Elections Deadly for Workers

At least 23 poll workers died during and after the Feb. 14 general election, reportedly of exhaustion, despite efforts by the General Elections Commission (KPU) to prevent a repetition of 2019’s hundreds of election worker deaths. Some 5 million poll administrators (KPPS) helped operate over 800,000 polling stations nationwide in the single-day presidential and legislative elections last week and are in charge of counting ballots manually at polling stations. KPU commissioner Idham Kholik told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that his office suspected that “exhaustion from working long hours until the early hours” was behind the deaths. The elections body will pay Rp 36 million (US$2,300) in compensation to the families of each of the deceased, alongside Rp 10 million for funeral expenses.