One central difficulty is that the resources available to the Indonesian state are very scarce – much scarcer than is commonly realised.   In rich OECD countries, governments (on average) currently spend around $15,000 per person per year.  In Indonesia, the equivalent figure last year was around $400.

This leads to two main problems.  One is that the Indonesian government simply does not have enough money to pay ministers, judges, public servants, police, and so on, anything like a proper wage.  The inevitable result is that many of these people look for ways to increase their incomes by selling whatever they have to sell.  They take the opportunity to “marketise” goods which should be provided through non-market mechanisms.

The other problem that it costs money to run a legal system.  The harsh truth is that Indonesian state with its extremely meagre budget simply cannot muster the resources needed to run a strong legal system.  Part of the long-term answer is much stronger public finances.  But in the short-term, no easy solution is in sight.