Bobby Nasution, Corruption, Political Dynasties

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The KPK arrested a man close to North Sumatra Governor Bobby Nasution for alleged bribery. It is the fruits of a political dynasty.

CORRUPTION and political dynasties are two sides of the same coin. Bobby Nasution, son-in-law of former president Joko Widodo, is the latest example of this. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) plans to question the North Sumatra Governor in relation to alleged bribery in infrastructure projects that has embroiled his subordinate.

KPK investigators have detained Topan Ginting, Head of the North Sumatra Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency and an official, who are alleged to have taken Rp8 billion in bribes from two road project contractors. Despite being a civil servant, Topan helped bring about Bobby Nasution’s victory in the 2020 Medan mayoral election. He became a confidante of Bobby and has occupied important positions in the North Sumatra government.

Bobby became mayor as the president’s son-in-law. As he admitted during his campaign, his special status as a member of the family of the top figure in Indonesia made his popularity soar. Three years after marrying Kahiyang Ayu, and a few months after joining the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-I), he effortlessly ascended to the political stage.

Bobby needed supporters to shore up his power. He integrated his campaign team into the bureaucracy, wrecking the meritocracy as he did so. One instance of incompetence led to another. While leading Medan, Bobby simply imitated his father-in-law in the way he exercised power. Under Bobby, according to the KPK Integrity Survey, the integrity rating for Medan was only 61.69, the lowest in Indonesia.

Since the 2005 direct regional elections, of the 49 percent of regional heads affiliated with political dynasties, 13 percent have been embroiled in corruption cases. In general, the poverty rate in provinces led by these dynastic politicians has been high, while human development indices have tended to be low.

As well as being incompetent, regional heads from political dynasties are prone to corruption because they cover up the misdeeds of their family members who were previously in office. The only way to protect corruption is through more corruption. In Bobby’s case, he was protected by the authority of his father-in-law. The KPK only had the courage to investigate alleged corruption by those close to him after Jokowi retired.

In the case of the “Medan Block,” a mining concession in North Maluku, the KPK only investigated Governor Abdul Gani Kasuba. Yet, before his death on March 14, 2025, Abdul Gani testified in court that Bobby Nasution had received a portion of the mining concessions in the province.

Instead of putting a stop to these political dynasties that damage democracy, Jokowi expanded it by supporting his son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, for the vice-presidency. Jokowi increased the level of political dynasties from the regions to the center.

It was Muhammad Yamin who, from the start, was worried about this type of practice. In 1945, in a meeting of the Investigative Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence, Yamin warned that the growth of political dynasties would give rise to oligarchies if Indonesia decided to become a monarchy. The majority of committee members agreed with Yamin and decided that the nation would be a republic with separation of powers.

This principle of statehood served as a guide for politicians when exercising their authority in the first decade of independence. But Sukarno, and later Suharto, slowly changed this by concentrating power in their own hands.

Sukarno did not establish a political dynasty, but he stifled freedom and shrunk the political arena through Guided Democracy. Meanwhile, Suharto, using repressive methods, destroyed republicanism during his 32 years in power. Towards the end of his presidency, Suharto established a dynasty by appointing his daughter, Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, as Social Affairs Minister.

The foundations of the republic have increasingly crumbled following the 1998 Reformasi. Weak general election regulations and party institutions, as well as voters with limited knowledge of history who are seemingly willing to accept abuses of power, have led to political dynasties flourishing in the democratic era. Bobby Nasution in North Sumatra is just the latest example of the decline of republicanism in Indonesian politics.

Read the Complete Story in Tempo English Magazine

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