"Our people have been sick of corruption and being unfairly treated. Why? Because much of Indonesia's wealth has been taken out of the country," he told several thousands of supporters who flocked to the field to hear his campaign speech.
Therefore, if he won the presidential elections, due to be held on April 17, and became the Indonesian president, he would build a corruption-free government for bringing justice and prosperity to the people at large, said Prabowo, the founder of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).
He reiterated his statement that the leak of state funds was predicted to reach around Rp1,000 trillion but many elites in the country were unhappy with what he has said. In response to his statement, the political elites asked him to prove it.
"I said, please ask the government. Why do you ask me? If I were the Indonesian president, I would be responsible for that," he told thousands of his supporters attending his campaign.
Subianto then conveyed his pledge that he would resolve the state fund leak if he were elected Indonesian president. As part of his strategies in combating corruption, he would raise the salaries of law enforcers, including judges, prosecutors, as well as police and military personnel.
"The salaries of our judges need significantly be increased because they should not be bribed. The judges are the last resort for our people to complain. Thus, if the salaries get increased, they think of our people," he said, adding that he had spent more than 30 years of his life as a soldier of the Indonesian military.
As a soldier, he thought that whatever the military personnel received were all from the people, Prabowo Subianto who chose Sandiaga Uno as his running mate to challenge the Joko Widodo-Ma'ruf Amin pair in the upcoming presidential race.
Subianto has repeatedly expressed his deep concern over the state budget leak saying that its percentage could reach up to 25 percent.
Regarding Subianto's statement, Vice President Jusuf Kalla has defended the ongoing efforts to eradicate corruption in Indonesia, affirming that the endeavors have been so fierce that state officials are deterred from committing the crime.
"Corruption does exist, but the efforts to eradicate the crime are also so fierce. Only the brave individuals, who have no fear of being arrested, commit this crime," Kalla said in Jakarta last February.
In combating the crime of corruption, a fair law enforcement is applied, as can be observed from those arrested and tried in court. Among the convicts are regional leaders, ministers, and members of parliament, Kalla pointed out.
"Please show me a country, whose 40 legislators, more than 100 regional leaders, and nine ministers were arrested on corruption charges. Please find another country with so tough corruption eradication (like Indonesia)," he emphasized.
In January 2019, for instance, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators arrested eight people, including Mesuji District Head Khamami, on graft charges.
The anti-graft body's spokesman, Febri Diansyah, remarked that during the raid, the KPK investigators seized a cardboard box containing banknotes of Rp100 thousand denomination. The amount of money in the box was estimated to reach around Rp1 billion.
The money might be part of the fees for last year's infrastructure projects of the Mesuji Public Works and People`s Housing Office, he stated.
In April 2018, Chief of the Task Force of Prevention Coordination and Supervision of KPK Asep Rahmat Suwandha revealed that 93 regional leaders, including 18 governors and 75 district heads and city mayors, had been named suspects in corruption.
Responding to a question concerning the statement of Prabowo Subianto, contender of incumbent President Joko Widodo in the upcoming presidential race, that the percentage of the state budget leaks could reach up to 25 percent, Vice President Kalla expressed disagreement to his opinion.
As revealed in various corruption cases that judges handled in courts, the average mark-up percentage of the development budget was between seven and 15 percent, he noted, adding that corruption crimes may occur in any country, including Indonesia, which has actively been carrying out infrastructure construction projects over the past years.
Kalla noted that the state budget generally and frequently targeted by the corruptors was related to the development budget. Thus, a statement that the state budget leaks could reach 25 percent was untrue.
In connection with the 2019 presidential election, the General Election Commissions (KPU) has allowed the two pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates to conduct open campaigns from March 24 to April 13, 2019.
The KPU has also prepared five rounds of presidential debates, broadcast live by several television channels. The presidential debates and open campaigns are expected to help some 192 million eligible voters, who will participate in this democratic process, to become well-informed on the two pairs' capacity and capability.
Empowered with sufficient information about the candidates, they will be able to vote rationally. The government has even set a target that the parliamentary and presidential elections, due to be held simultaneously throughout the country on April 17, will be participated in by at least 77.5 percent of the total number of voters.
Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said recently that this year's participation rate was higher than those of the 2009 and 2014 general elections which were recorded at 71 and 74 percents, respectively.
Editor: Eliswan Azly
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
