ICW Rejects Luhut's Proposal on State Loss: If Removed, Indonesia Appears Free of Corruption

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) firmly rejected the proposal by the Chairman of the National Economic Council (DEN), Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, that state losses should not be included in the definition of corruption.

ICW researcher Wana Alamsyah stated that if the element of state loss is removed from the definition of corruption, the number of corruption cases will appear to decline due to the interests of those in power.

“If the article regarding state loss is removed, we can project that corruption will drastically decrease in the future. Not because there is no corruption, but because the law will be adjusted for the interests of the powerful to create the illusion that Indonesia is free from corruption, when in fact it is not,” Wana told Kompas.com on Wednesday (21/10/2026).

Wana noted that, according to ICW records of corruption verdicts in 2024, 83 percent of defendants were convicted under the articles concerning state loss as defined in Articles 2 and 3 of the Corruption Crime Law (UU Tipikor).

Therefore, he argued, should President Prabowo Subianto approve this proposal, it would mean supporting the deterioration of efforts to combat corruption.

“Instead of improving the integrity of law enforcement, the government is taking shortcuts by amending the law,” he remarked.

Wana also urged Luhut not to casually adopt the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).

He emphasized that there are still many norms within UNCAC that have not been integrated into Indonesian law, such as asset confiscation, the unjust enrichment of public officials, influence peddling, private sector corruption, and bribery of foreign officials.

“Rather than focusing on state loss, the government should concentrate on addressing the lag in the implementation of UNCAC,” he said.

Previously, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan proposed to President Prabowo Subianto that state losses should not be considered part of the definition of corruption.

This suggestion is based on a DEN study referring to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which Indonesia ratified through Law No. 7 of 2006.

“Yes, we refer to the UN Charter regarding the definition of corruption, where the definition of corruption in the UN Charter, which was ratified by Indonesia 20 years ago, is bribery and graft. So it does not mention state losses,” Luhut stated at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday (21/10/2026).

“Earlier, the President agreed with the study conducted by the team from the National Economic Council concerning the definition of corruption. It is important to ensure that Indonesia's handling of corruption meets international standards,” he explained.

Luhut asserted that Indonesia has been the only country that applies state loss as a measure of corruption.

“Because Indonesia is the only country that applies the problem of state loss, and this indeed burdens entities like Danantara in conducting business, which inherently carries risks in any business,” he said.

On the same occasion, Luhut also reported several data points to President Prabowo.

It is hoped that decision-making in the future can be data-driven.

“Earlier, I reported to the President that we will be feeding him accurate data so that the process of his decision-making will increasingly be data-based. I believe that with data, the decision-making process will be much more precise,” he noted.

Consequently, the DEN acknowledged it would intensify its provision of data to President Prabowo.

“This way, in the current state of the global economy, the President will be upgraded with up-to-date data,” he added.