SEAPAC Conference: Transparency in Political Finance as an Essential Part of Combating Corruption

SEAPAC collaborated with the Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation of the Indonesian House of Representatives to hold the SEAPAC Conference and General Assembly in Jakarta on February 27 and 28, 2023, with the theme Parliamentary Actions on Political Finance, Oversight, and Combating Green Corruption in Southeast Asia.  The event was attended by members of parliament from Indonesia and ASEAN countries, academics, and anti-corruption activists.

Carrying the theme of political finance, the Chairman of SEAPAC, Fadli Zon, stated that “money has the influence to corrupt political processes, and political finance that is not transparent threatens democracy around the world. Without a good system, adequate regulations, and strong oversight mechanisms in political finance, the function of long-term economic democracy and development will be severely hampered.”

The themes of political finance as well as green corruption are considered very relevant to current conditions. Indonesia will enter a political campaign period at the end of 2023, as well as several other countries in Southeast Asia. The root of the issue of corruption in many countries is the lack of regulation and supervision of political financing, including funding for political parties, campaign finance, and donations from third parties. So, it is considered necessary to consider how parliament can play a role in improving regulation and supervision for more transparent and corruption-free political finance. The panelists of the conference come from various universities around the world and also state institutions that have expertise and competence in the fields of politics, finance, and state financial auditing.

Fadli Zon hopes that this international meeting can produce useful discussions and the development of regulations and mechanisms to strengthen the anti-corruption legislation system. He added that it is the responsibility of parliament to draft and adapt regulations related to the transparency of political financing and the need for regulatory updates to respond to current and future political challenges.