When ‘Ordinary People’ Look at Corruption...

KOMPAS/ALIF ICHWAN

Janitors clean the main lobby of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building in Jakarta on Monday, June 18, 2018.

Corruption is a tale of irony. The state, which is supposed to provide equal opportunity for all its citizens, has become as though it is helpless in the face of the budget and policy leaks spouting from the greedy behavior of its elite. The “ordinary people” can only be disappointed, angry and be dissatisfied.

Kampung Badur in Medan Maimun district, Medan city, where 46-year-old Risdawati Malau lives, is less than 1 kilometer from the North Sumatra Legislative Council. The two places are “connected” by the Deli River. However, different from the council building, which is strong, clean and comfortable, Risdawati lives in poverty on the riverbank. Flooding is a regular event that she faces during every heavy rain.