ISS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

Still Holding the Line on Corruption in Indonesia?

Indonesia's efforts to fight graft suffered a blow this past month when the legislature revised the law that set up the KPK, the country's powerful anti-corruption commission, and the president approved the changes. The new language includes a requirement that the KPK secure the approval of a new oversight board, appointed by the president, prior to raids, seizures, and wiretaps, cutting into the commission's autonomy and reducing its ability to investigate cases involving senior officials. It also requires KPK employees, long recruited and managed through an independent process, to become civil servants. This change is likely to result in substantial pay cuts, a weakened ability to recruit from outside government, and an end to performance incentives. These actions coincide with the appointment of new commissioners and a new chair, drawn from the police. Student protesters took to the streets to object to the changes.

A series of ISS case studies profiles the KPK in Indonesia: 

• the original design of the KPK, set up in 2002; 
• efforts to protect the KPK's independence against challenges from legislators and some parts of the Indonesian government; and 
• the commissions role in supporting some of the country's other anti-corruption programs. 

In addition, a cross-cutting paper compares the KPK with other anti-corruption agencies in new democracies.

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Artwork from the lobby of the KPK's headquarters in Jakarta encourages Indonesians to expose corruption. The commission tapped

popular culture like street art, music, videos, and social media to galvanize public support. (Photo taken in 2012 by Gabriel Kuris for ISS)

Reaching an Underserved Population in Tel Aviv

Until recently, parents with children under four years of age in Tel Aviv were mostly on their own when it came to finding the child care services and support they needed. Although the city was an economic and technology powerhouse, the government showed little interest in providing for its youngest residents. Public concern about the cost and quality of child care and a shortage of opportunities to ensure infants and toddlers thrived drew parents into the streets. In 2016, the city began to respond. A new ISS case study profiles how municipal departments expanded services, launched a digital platform for parents, and renovated public spaces to suit children three years old and younger. By 2019, early childhood development had become a government priority and part of the mayor's reelection campaign platform, although scaling services to some of the poorest neighborhoods remained a challenge.

Children and families play in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. (Photo by Oded Antman, Bernard van Leer Foundation)

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Innovations for Successful Societies (ISS) is a program of Princeton University's
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs