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One year before the 2024 General Elections and Simultaneous Regional Elections in Indonesia, various efforts are being made by politicians to fulfill their political ambitions. Corruption practices are not hesitant to be committed by politicians to finance their plans to participate in the five-yearly democratic event. This is evidenced by several corruption cases investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), where regional leaders seek illegal funds to finance their participation in the upcoming elections.

For example, Muhammad Adil, who is suspected of using the deposit money from the Regional Work Unit (SKPD) to fund his political safari to become the governor of Riau in 2024, was arrested by the KPK in a sting operation on Friday, April 7, 2023, and is now a suspect.

"Muhammad Adil, in his position, allegedly ordered the Head of SKPD to make deposits of funds sourced from the deduction of supply funds (UP) and supply money (GU) of each SKPD," said Deputy Chairman of the KPK, Alexander Marwata, last Friday.

Alex explained that the deposit money was conditioned as if it were Adil's debt. The amount of UP and GU deductions was determined by Adil in the range of 5-10 percent for each SKPD. Furthermore, UP and GU deposits were made in cash and deposited to Fitria Nengsih (FN), who served as the Head of the Regional Financial and Asset Management Agency (BPKAD) of the Kepulauan Meranti Regency and was also Adil's trusted person. The money was then given to Adil as a deposit via the aide of the regent.

"After the deposits were collected, the deposit money was then used for Adil's interests. Among them, as operational funds for political safari activities, Adil's candidacy plan to run for governor of Riau in 2024," said Alex.

Similar practices were also carried out by the Regent of Kapuas, Ben Brahim S., and his wife, Ary Egahni, who is also a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives, as suspects in the alleged corruption case of the Kapuas Regency's SKPD budget. Ben and Ary were suspected of using the corrupt funds to pay for two national survey institutions, Poltracking and Indikator Politik Indonesia, when Ben intended to run as a candidate for governor of Central Kalimantan in 2020.

"Regarding the amount of money received by Ben Brahim and Ary, it is currently estimated at around IDR 8.7 billion, which among other things was also used to pay two national survey institutions," said Deputy Chairman of the KPK, Johanis Tanak, on March 29, 2023. In addition to paying for survey institutions, the illegal money received by Ben Brahim was also used for operational costs when participating in the Kapuas regent elections. "Including for the participation of Ary Egahni, who is the wife of Ben Brahim, in the 2019 legislative elections for the Indonesian House of Representatives," said Tanak.

Director of Indikator Politik Indonesia, Fauny Hidayat, revealed that Ben Brahim used their institution's services because he intended to run as a candidate for governor of Central Kalimantan in 2020. He said his institution was appointed as one of the pollsters recommended by one of the political parties to conduct a survey of prospective regional head candidates. According to Fauny, at that time, Ben wanted to secure the endorsement of the concerned party. He then asked Indikator Politik Indonesia to check his electability level. 

It is important for the government and law enforcement agencies to take strong action against corrupt politicians and officials in order to prevent such incidents in the future. Effective measures should be taken to ensure transparency and accountability in the electoral process, such as strict regulations on campaign financing and regular audits of government spending.

Moreover, it is the responsibility of the citizens to be vigilant and actively participate in the democratic process. They should make informed choices while voting and hold their elected representatives accountable for their actions. It is also important to promote a culture of integrity and honesty in society, so that corruption is not seen as an acceptable means to achieve political goals.

In conclusion, the recent cases of corruption involving politicians using illegal funds for political campaigns is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. It is essential to take strong action against such individuals and also to implement effective measures to prevent such incidents in the future. Only then can we ensure a fair and transparent democratic process that truly represents the interests of the people.