Bricks, Cement and Rupiah Are Filling Donation Box for New KPK Building

Rizky Amelia

After the House of Representatives announced on Monday that all nine political factions have formally rejected the budget for the a new Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building, thousands of Indonesians, from street vendors to public figures, continue to make donations.

And it’s not just cash that’s being collected, but construction materials as well. On Tuesday, the donation post located at the terrace of KPK building was stocked with building supplies, including rebar from donors in Solo, as well as 20 bricks and 4 bags of cement from the National Committee of Indonesian Youth (KNPI).

A middle aged woman named Irma has also been donating coins totaling approximately Rp 1,100 ($.10) every day, according to Illian Deta Sari, a member of Indonesian Corruption Watch, who has been managing the donations.

On Wednesday afternoon, two Indonesian models — Olga Lidya and Anya Dwinov — donated Rp 100,000 each.

“I want to help with the construction of the KPK new building in accordance with their need,” Anya said. “This is personal initiative, and only Rp 100,000. Hopefully it can help.”

Political communications expert Effendi Gazali, Chairman of National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Konstras) Usman Hamid and Secretary General of Transparency International Indonesia Teten Masduki also donated their money.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the donations were totaled at Rp 186 million ($19,000), still a far cry from the Rp 166 billion needed. And while several people have reportedly asked to donate a larger sum, the KPK set the limit at Rp 100,000 per donation.

After rejecting the budget on Monday, the House announced that the antigraft body would have to make do with an existing unused government facility.

The KPK has been arguing that its existing office in Kuningan, South Jakarta, can no longer house its 700 employees. The KPK also plans to expand its own detention facilities and recruit more staff to handle the multitude of corruption cases it is tasked with investigating.