Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) urged lawmakers on Tuesday to revise the 2004 Law on regional administration, claiming that loopholes within the regulation have triggered rampant money politics.

According to ICW, the current law does not limit the amount of campaign funds regional leader candidates can spend.

"We assume that the regulation has enabled candidates to buy public votes to win the election. Once elected, they have this tendency to repay themselves by exploiting the local budget," ICW coordinator Danang Widoyoko said in a statement.

According to Home Ministry data, 173 local leaders have been summoned since 2004 by law enforcers for questioning in graft cases. According to Danang, about 70 percent of regional heads had been found guilty of embezzlement.

"This phenomenon will reduce public confidence in the government in the future," the activist said as quoted by kompas.com. (asa/swd)