Nepotisme dan Gratifikasi sebagai Unsur Budaya pada Korupsi Politik dan Birokrasi di Indonesia

Abstract

Lately, Indonesia is being hit by the problem of corruption on a broad and massive scale with striking exposure. Corruption is an improper act which violates the procedure—by misusing the position or trust that is carried out—to gain personal and/or group benefits. Corruption can give birth to immoral leaders (or leadership) who do not hesitate to transfer public property rights (national wealth) to private property rights (personal wealth), and who ignore the alarming facts about how many very small people living under the poverty line. The practice of bribery in Indonesia seems to have become an infectious culture that extends to all social levels, from elite officials to 'lowly' officials, and has even become a common example followed by ordinary people at the village level. Those who have been imprisoned because of corruption or other abuse of authority appear even more victorious and respected by the community after serving their sentences. Seeing this phenomenon, it seems that efforts to eradicate corruption in Indonesia, namely by taking legal action in the form of pu-nishment of the perpetrators, seems to be ineffective and practically in a stalemate. Through the framework and approach of Cultural Criminology this paper aims at examining the root causes of corruption cases committed by politicians and public officials in Indonesia, which occur in congregation, successive and continuous manner—as if the tip with the base can not be distinguished, because of their mutual complication and intricacy. From this point the author hope to be able to contribute a little to the efforts of the state to be more aligned and targeted in reducing, even stopping or eradicating thoroughly, criminal acts of corruption in the future.

Keywords: Corruption, bribery, culture, morals, economy