We began 2021 with a corruption case drama involving tax officials. The allegation was scandalous. Officials had allegedly transacted and helped three large companies avoid their tax obligations. One of said companies was owned by the notorious Haji Isam, who was once nominated as treasurer of the Jokowi-Ma’ruf campaign in the 2019 election, a business partner of the Bakrie Group in the coal industry. The key suspect in the case was found guilty and the tax consultants of one of the companies were found guilty. In November 2022, a trial of two remaining consultants of two other companies finally started. We are waiting for surprises at the trials, hoping that the KPK will state the alleged involvement of companies in these cases, but one can only hope. The trial proceeded normally and far from media coverage. The prosecutors’ demands that were read recently were far from satisfactory.

Governor of Papua, Lukas Enembe (Demokrat), is a powerful figure on the island. He is serving his second period as Governor relatively far from media coverage. However, the little coverage does not mean Lukas is clean. In September 2022, we learned that the Directorate General of Immigration had imposed a travel ban on Lukas, based on a request from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The KPK has not announced anything, but for some, the travel ban and the widespread alleged crime related to Lukas is long overdue. The KPK confirmed that they had named Lukas as a suspect, but we had to wait until the end of last week to find out the details of the case that finally ensnared Lukas. Apart from Lukas, two regional leaders on the island of Papua also have to face the KPK, one of whom is still at large. 

Three years have passed since the current House of Representatives took up its duties. During this period, there were hundreds of Bills in the list of National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) waiting to be discussed and promulgated. Unfortunately the performance of the legislature has not been very satisfactory. This poor performance is not surprising actually, but the situation has become even more difficult due to the pandemic. Even so, from the past year, there are several achievements that need to be appreciated. Will this achievement be maintained in 2023?

The past three years has been eventful for State-Owned airlines, PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. The flag carrier finally was able to catch some breath just recently after they managed to resolve the debt restructuring process (PKPU) with a peace agreement although there was a small obstacle. Two of the company creditors, Greylag Goose Leasing 1410 Designated Activity Company and Greylag Goose Leasing 1446 Designated Activity Company attempted to apply for the cancellation of the peace agreement, which ultimately failed. At the same time, lawsuits filed against Garuda Indonesia in other countries also failed. Now, Garuda Indonesia has decided to file a lawsuit against the two creditors.

Towards the end of last year, the Constitutional Court made a historic decision. With four dissenting opinions, the Assembly of Justices ruled that the process of establishing Law No. 11/2020 concerning Job Creation is formally flawed. This is the first time in Indonesia’s judicial history that the Assembly has granted a judicial review application related to the formal aspects of a law. The Government has two years to fix all the problems, and as expected, the first thing that was corrected was the Law on the Establishment of Legislation. What we did not anticipate was the Government’s decision to issue a Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu). The possibility of the Perppu being ratified to overcome legal vacuum had previously been dismissed by the Government, then the situation had calmed down a bit. But here we are, welcoming the new year with the said Perppu. The Government is now arguing that a Perppu is needed to face 2023. Interesting.

Over the past three years, the KPK under the leadership of Firli Bahuri has worked under pressure and ridicule from the public. There are many reasons for public disapproval, this was exacerbated by the revelations of scandals, including one that forced one of the...