The swelling cost of politics in Indonesia has once again come under sharp scrutiny as one of the main drivers of corruption among public officials. This phenomenon creates a cycle where political office is viewed as an investment vehicle, leaving election winners feeling burdened to recoup the capital poured out from candidacy through campaign periods.
Director of the Indonesia Political Review (IPR), Iwan Setiawan, emphasized the need to distinguish between election organizing costs and political costs. According to him, election costs are a logical consequence of a democratic nation funded by the state. Conversely, political costs are burdens borne by candidates and parties, which often become the root of problems due to opaque internal party recruitment systems and the dominance of money politics practices.
In practice, candidates often have to spend tens of billions of rupiah just to secure political party recommendations. Capacity, integrity, and electability are frequently sidelined, replaced by financial capability—often dubbed as the 'bag content' (isi tas). This results in the election of pragmatic leaders who are vulnerable to legal cases while in office to cover their previous operational expenses.
Ever-increasing campaign costs, reaching hundreds of billions for gubernatorial elections, present an immense burden. This condition triggers numerous regional heads being caught in sting operations by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and other law enforcement agencies, ultimately causing tangible harm to the broader public due to stalled development and dirty governance.
Responding to this situation, the government and legislature have begun proposing a reorganization of the national political system. Golkar Party politician Bambang Soesatyo revealed that President Prabowo Subianto supports a transition toward a more substantial political system so it is no longer transactional. Several political parties, including Golkar and Gerindra, even raised the discourse of returning to the system of regional head elections through regional parliaments (DPRD) as an option to curb political costs, although the proposal continues to spark long debates among the public.
