A Comparative Analysis of the Transformation of Corruption Practices in Indonesia and Malaysia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15294/ijcls.v10i2.30206Keywords:
Corruption, Institutional Transformation, Legal Weakness, Instrument of Power, Substantive JusticeAbstract
This study analyses the dynamics of corruption in Indonesia and Malaysia as developing countries, focusing on how corrupt practices have transformed from individual crimes into institutionalized systems legitimized socially and politically. socially and politically. The main research questions include: (1) how the forms and patterns of corruption evolve within the institutional context of developing states; and (2) how written law in Indonesia and Malaysia contributes to both the preservation and control of corruption. This research employs a socio-legal approach using a comparative normative-sociological analysis of anti-corruption regulations, law enforcement institutions, and political practices in both countries. The findings reveal that Indonesia and Malaysia face a paradox in their anti-corruption frameworks: strong normative structures yet weak implementation due to the dominance of political interests, bureaucratic patronage, and limited institutional independence. The transformation of corruption occurs through the institutionalization of patronage and socially accepted gratification practices, embedding corruption within the governance system itself. In conclusion, effective anti-corruption efforts in both countries require structural reforms that reinforce the independence of anti-corruption agencies, promote active participation by civil society, and establish an integrity-based private sector. The law must be liberated from political domination so that it functions not merely as a repressive instrument, but as a means of cultivating public ethics and achieving substantive justice.
References
Ab Rahman, Azman, Nur Wahida Lokman, Lutfi Mohamed Zain, Syed Mohd Najib Syed Omar, and Setiyawan Gunardi. ‘Analisis Faktor-Faktor Gejala Rasuah dan Cabaran Menanganinya Di Malaysia: Analysis The Factors of Corruption And The Challenges Of Preventing It In Malaysia’. Malaysian Journal of Syariah and Law 10, no. 1 (2022): 90–97. https://doi.org/10.33102/mjsl.vol10no1.387.
Abdul, Sharifah Liyana Marissa Malik Syed, Haslinda Yusoff, and Nafsiah Mohamed. ‘Factors That Might Lead to Corruption: A Case Study on Malaysian Government Agency’. International Journal of Financial Research 10, no. 3 (2019): 216. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijfr.v10n3p216.
Alderson, Maryanne, and Dina Perrone. ‘Procedural Justice and Police Encounters with Homeless Injecting Drug Users’. Criminology, Criminal Justice Law, & Society 20, no. 1 (2019): 71–84.
Apriliyanti, Indri Dwi, and Stein Oluf Kristiansen. ‘The Logics of Political Business in State-Owned Enterprises: The Case of Indonesia’. International Journal of Emerging Markets 14, no. 5 (2019): 709–30. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-08-2018-0433.
Arslan, Hasan, Mehmet Ali Içbay, and Christian Ruggiero, eds. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences. Peter Lang D, 2016. https://doi.org/10.3726/978-3-631-69829-7.
Bagley, Nicholas. ‘The Procedure Fetish’. SSRN Electronic Journal, ahead of print, 2019. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3347377.
Bercea, Raluca. ‘Choosing Form over Content: An Assessment of Domestic Violence Cases before National Courts and the European Court of Human Rights’. In Violence Against Women under European Human Rights Law, edited by Elena Brodealǎ, Ivana Jelic, and Silvia Şuteu. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035346660.00016.
Boscaro, Nilton César. ‘The Principle of Division of Functions in Jurisdictional Criminal Prosecution: From the Perspective of the Democratic Rule of Law’. Revista Brasileira de Ciências Policiais 10, no. 2 (2020): 223–66. https://doi.org/10.31412/rbcp.v10i2.631.
Bozeman, Barry, Angel Luis Molina, and Wesley Kaufmann. ‘Angling for Sharks, Not Pilot Fish: Deep Corruption, Venal Corruption, and Public Values Failure’. Perspectives on Public Management and Governance 1, no. 1 (2018): 5–27. https://doi.org/10.1093/ppmgov/gvx002.
Chia, Eduardo A. ‘Hart, Raz and Kelsen on the Puzzle of Law’s Autonomy’. In Human Dignity and the Autonomy of Law, edited by José Manuel Aroso Linhares and Manuel Atienza, vol. 7. Law and Visual Jurisprudence. Springer International Publishing, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14824-8_5.
Creutzfeldt, Naomi, Marc Mason, and Kirsten McConnachie. Routledge Handbook of Socio-Legal Theory and Methods. 1st edn. Edited by Naomi Creutzfeldt, Marc Mason, and Kirsten McConnachie. Routledge, 2019. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429952814.
Ellis, Jane, ed. Corruption, Social Sciences and the Law: Exploration across the Disciplines. 1st edn. Routledge, 2019. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429197352.
Esposito, Fabrizio. ‘On the Fitness between Law and Economics—Or Sunstein between Posner and Calabresi’. Global Jurist 19, no. 3 (2019): 20180054. https://doi.org/10.1515/gj-2018-0054.
Fernando, Henky, Yuniar Galuh Larasati, Irwan Abdullah, Refti Handini Listyani, Rina Martiara, and Ghina Nabilah Effendi. ‘Cultural Barriers to Preventing Corrupt Practices in Indonesia’. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Civic and Political Studies 20, no. 2 (2025): 135–59. https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-0071/CGP/v20i02/135-159.
Friedrich, Carl J.. ‘Corruption Concepts in Historical Perspective’. In Political Corruption, 3rd edn, by Arnold I. Heidenheimer and Michael Lohnston, edited by Michael Johnston. Routledge, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315126647-2.
Ghosh, Sanghita, and Mainak Bhattacharjee. ‘Political Economy Underlying Corruption and Its Macroeconomic Implications’. In Social Sector Spending, Governance and Economic Development, 1st edn, by Ramesh Chandra Das. Routledge India, 2023. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003245797-2.
Gragl, Paul. ‘Kelsen’s Metaethics’. Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie 107, no. 4 (2021): 549–67. https://doi.org/10.25162/arsp-2021-0026.
Graham, Amanda. ‘Legitimacy and Its Critiques – A Cautionary Note’. In Understanding Legitimacy in Criminal Justice, edited by Liqun Cao. Springer International Publishing, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17731-6_2.
Hadi, Sadhono, Achmad Nurmandi, Trisno Rahardjo, and Ulung Pribadi. ‘Corruption of the Local Leaders in Indonesia: An Expository Study’. Jurnal Media Hukum 27, no. 2 (2020). https://doi.org/10.18196/jmh.20200155.
Ibrahim, Carole. ‘Corruption, Public Debt and Economic Growth – Evidence from Developing Countries’. International Journal of Development Issues 20, no. 1 (2021): 24–37. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDI-12-2019-0208.
Kamarulzaman, Anis Nabilah, Azman Ab Rahman, Ahmad Zaki Salleh, and Md Yunus Abd. Aziz. ‘Gejala Rasuah Dan Implikasi Terhadap Masyarakat Malaysia Menurut Perspektif Syarak: The Symptoms Of Corruption And Implications For The Malaysian Community According To The Shariah Perspective’. Journal of Fatwa Management and Research 28, no. 2 (2023): 87–103. https://doi.org/10.33102/jfatwa.vol28no2.538.
Koonan, Sujith. ‘Social Movements and Resistance to Elitism of Groundwater Law: Lessons from the Plachimada Dispute’. In Groundwater Law and Management in India, edited by Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan, Tony George Puthucherril, and Sanu Rani Paul. Springer Singapore, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2617-3_5.
Kostadinova, Tatiana, and Milena I. Neshkova. ‘Personalist Leadership and Corruption: Evidence From Third Wave Democracies’. Politics & Policy 53, no. 4 (2025): e70056. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.70056.
Lifante-Vidal, Isabel. ‘Is Legal Certainty a Formal Value?’ Jurisprudence 11, no. 3 (2020): 456–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/20403313.2020.1778289.
Mar, MaksymilianDel. Legal Theory and the Social Sciences. 1st edn. Edited by Del Mar Maksymilian and Michael Giudice. Routledge, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315091891.
N.A., Khairul Saidah Abas Azmi. ‘Exploring Public Procurement in Malaysia: How Institutional Arrangements Manufacture Fraudulent Practices’. International Journal of Procurement Management 1, no. 1 (2021): 1. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPM.2021.10041519.
Nadjib, Abdul. ‘How Social Capital Works: The Role of Social Capital in Acts of Corruption’. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation 24, no. 3 (2020): 2424–33. https://doi.org/10.37200/IJPR/V24I3/PR201890.
Ngamsiriudom, Waros. ‘“Perceived Seller Loyalty” for “Customer Loyalty”, Does “Tat for Tat” Work Like “Tit for Tat”?’ In Thriving in a New World Economy, edited by Kirk Plangger. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer International Publishing, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24148-7_84.
Pawlik, Michael. ‘A Geometry of the Total Appearance of Law: Hans Kelsen’s Pure Theory of Law’. InDret, no. 2 (May 2025): 69–105. https://doi.org/10.31009/InDret.2025.i2.03.
Pérez Ragone, Álvaro. ‘El Impacto Del Diálogo Entre Derecho Sustantivo y Derecho Procesal’. Revista Derecho Del Estado, no. 41 (May 2018): 255–83. https://doi.org/10.18601/01229893.n41.10.
Peršak, Nina. Legitimacy and Trust in Criminal Law, Policy and Justice: Norms, Procedures, Outcomes. 0 edn. Routledge, 2016. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315592169.
Prastica, Rian Mantasa Salve, Nanang Dwi Prasetyo, and Yosephina Puspa Setyoasri. ‘What Are the Triggering Factors of Corruption in the Construction Industry in Indonesia?’ 2024, 030037. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0214112.
Preda, Ionut Cristian. ‘Corruption Evolution in the Last Decade and the Impact on Public Institutions’. In Economic Growth, Prosperity and Sustainability in the Economies of the Balkans and Eastern European Countries, edited by Maria Mavri, Patricia Ikouta Mazza, Anastasios Karasavvoglou, and Persefoni Polychronidou. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer Nature Switzerland, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-58437-4_10.
Purwanto, Agus, and Andi Wahju Rahardjo Emanuel. ‘Data Analysis for Corruption Indications on Procurement of Goods and Services’. 2020 3rd International Conference on Information and Communications Technology (ICOIACT), IEEE, 24 November 2020, 56–60. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICOIACT50329.2020.9331959.
Rahman, Azman Ab, Md Yunus Abd Aziz, Ahmad Zaki Salleh, and Anis Nabilah Kamarulzaman. ‘Peranan Kerajaan Dalam Pendidikan Antirasuah Di Malaysia Dan Impaknya Terhadap Masyarakat: The Role of The Government In Anti-Corruption Education In Malaysia And Its Impact On Society’. Journal of Fatwa Management and Research 29, no. 1 (2024): 129–41. https://doi.org/10.33102/jfatwa.vol29no1.574.
Rose-Ackerman, Susan. ‘Which Bureaucracies Are Less Corruptible?’ In Political Corruption, 2nd edn, by Arnold J. Heidenheimer, Michael Johnston, and Victor T. LeVine. Routledge, 2024. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003575658-62.
Sieckmann, Jan‐Reinard. ‘The Dual‐Nature Thesis: Which Dualism?’ Ratio Juris 33, no. 3 (2020): 271–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/raju.12295.
Sievers, Juliele Maria. ‘Jørgensen’s Dilemma in the Interface Between Legal Positivism and the Natural Law Tradition’. In New Developments in Legal Reasoning and Logic, edited by Shahid Rahman, Matthias Armgardt, and Hans Christian Nordtveit Kvernenes, vol. 23. Logic, Argumentation & Reasoning. Springer International Publishing, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70084-3_16.
Silva, Cristiana Maria Fortini Pinto E, and Lucas Dutra Dadalto. ‘ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW: NATURE AND SUBJECTIVE RANGE’. Revista Opinião Jurídica (Fortaleza) 17, n.º 25 (2018): 81. https://doi.org/10.12662/2447-6641oj.v17i25.p81-106.2019.
Staničić, Frane. ‘Excessive Legal Formalism and Public Procurement Procedures’. Zbornik Pravnog Fakulteta u Zagrebu 67, nos 3–4 (2017): 531–64.
Suardi, Imelda, Hilda Rossieta, Vera Diyanty, and Chaerul Djakman. ‘The Acceptance of Procurement System in Affecting Corruption in the Indonesian Government: User Perspective’. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, ahead of print, 31 March 2025. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEPP-05-2024-0077.
Suteki, Suteki, Abdul Jalil, Aga Natalis, and Dewi Rembulan. ‘Community Engagement in Eradicating Corruption: Evaluating the Effectiveness and Reward Models for Whistleblowers As a Regional Strategy’. Jurnal Pengabdian Hukum Indonesia (Indonesian Journal of Legal Community Engagement) JPHI 8, no. 1 (2025): 23–92. https://doi.org/10.15294/jphi.v8i1.20440.
Umam, Ahmad Khoirul, and Brian Head. ‘Testing the Limits of Public Integrity: The Impact of Vested Interests and Countervailing Forces on Indonesia’s KPK’. Asian Politics & Policy 12, no. 3 (2020): 384–403. https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.12548.
Weber, Max. ‘Categories of Legal Thought’. In The Sociology of Law, 1st edn, by A. Javier Treviño. Routledge, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315135069-15.
Yanto, Yanto, and Akhmad Suparmin. ‘Analyzing Embezzlement in Office in Indonesian Law: Legal Responsibility, Moral Implications, and Recommendations for Reform’. Jurnal Hukum Unissula 40, no. 2 (2024): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.26532/jh.v40i1.38905.
Yap, Jeffrey Boon Hui, Kai Yee Lee, and Martin Skitmore. ‘Analysing the Causes of Corruption in the Malaysian Construction Industry’. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology 18, no. 6 (2020): 1823–47. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-02-2020-0037.
Yap, Jeffrey Boon Hui, Kai Yee Lee, and Martin Skitmore. ‘Analysing the Causes of Corruption in the Malaysian Construction Industry’. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology 18, no. 6 (2020): 1823–47. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-02-2020-0037.
Yogi Prabowo, Hendi. ‘Sight beyond Sight: Foreseeing Corruption in the Indonesian Government through Behavioral Analysis’. Journal of Financial Crime 23, no. 2 (2016): 289–316. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-12-2014-0063.
Yustrisia, Lola, Kelik Wardiono, Natangsa Surbakti, and Arief Budiono. ‘Mining Corruption, Environmental Damage, and the Increasing Unauthorized Properties of State Officials’. Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology 8, no. 4 (2024): 1856–65. https://doi.org/10.55214/25768484.v8i4.1558.
Zhan, Jing Vivian, and Jiangnan Zhu. ‘Policy Coordination and Selective Corruption Control in China’. Policy Studies Journal 51, no. 3 (2023): 685–702. https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.12487.
Zhang, Nan. ‘Institutions, Norms, and Accountability: A Corruption Experiment with Northern and Southern Italians’. Journal of Experimental Political Science 5, no. 1 (2018): 11–25. https://doi.org/10.1017/XPS.2017.26.
Downloads
Published
Article ID
30206Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Adithiya Diar, Tri Imam Munandar, Saidatul Nadia Abd Aziz (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
