Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) will monitor financial transactions made by legislative candidates, many of whom are believed to have resorted to illegal practices to finance their costly election bids.
The PPATK has requested that the General Elections Commission (KPU) submit details of both legislative candidates and the treasurers of political parties, including their bank accounts. According to PPATK head Muhammad Yusuf, a KPU regulation requiring parties to submit their financial reports as well as campaign financing is ineffective in terms of curbing vote buying during elections.
Yusuf said his institution had found that parties had relatively small funds yet their politicians could spend a lot more than the parties earned, citing the use of leased private aircraft by party members as an example.
"We expect the KPU to inform us about the details of the bank accounts of all legislative candidates [to compete in the election next year] as well as the accounts of party treasurers and their family members in order to anticipate increasing suspicious transactions," Yusuf told a discussion on Sunday.
He added that his institution had found that the number of suspicious transactions by politicians usually increased a year before and after elections.
"As an institution mandated to organize the elections, the KPU should have taken the initiative to require legislative candidates to provide details of their bank accounts, instead of blaming rampant vote buying [approaching the elections] on the public," Yusuf went on.
A recent PPATK study found that from 2004 to 2012, the number of suspicious transactions had spiked by 125 percent on average in the two years before the elections.
The study, conducted between January and July this year, recorded an increase in the number of suspicious transactions from 10,432 in 2008 to 23,520 in 2009.
According to the study, which evaluated bank transactions from 138 regional representatives, 560 lawmakers and 979 regional officials, politicians earned money to fund their political campaigns from various sources, including from companies privately owned by relatives, colleagues and parties, as well as from state-owned enterprises (BUMN).
The PPATK's Yusuf warned that corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds of BUMN, especially those that focused on banking, were particularly prone to misuse as the elections approached.
According to Yusuf, misuse of CSR funds would usually be done by commissioners as they had the authority to determine the benefactors who usually had affiliations with political parties or their members.
He cited an example of credit proposals that were considered not prudent by individuals or companies linked to certain parties.
Yusuf additionally cited the state budget allocated to education as another potential source of income for campaigns.
Responding to the PPATK, KPU commissioner Sigit Pamungkas said his institution would be unable to fulfill the former's demand as an internal regulation of his institution exempted party members from providing information on their bank accounts.
"Our regulation says that only political parties are required to submit their financial reports," Sigit said, referring to KPU Regulation No. 17/2012 on campaign funds.
Sigit added that parties would usually differentiate their budget from the money they would use to fund campaigns.