Two weeks after the Kanjuruhan football stadium stampede which killed more than 130 people, Indonesian President Joko Widodo summoned hundreds of regional police chiefs and high-ranking officers to the presidential palace. He warned them against repressive approaches and banned officers from exhibiting a lavish lifestyle.
Apart from their brutality, Indonesian police officers are notorious for having a lot of money to buy luxury goods.
The highest salary a police officer can earn is 5.9 million rupiah (US$383) per month. In addition they can earn up to an extra 34.9 million rupiah (US$2267) per month in bonuses. Although officers are prohibited from owning luxury items and there are punishments for those who violate these regulations, many high-ranking police and their families flaunt their luxury lifestyles without any sanction. In 2020, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairperson, Police Commissary General Firli Bahuri, was sanctioned for displaying a hedonistic lifestyle. He kept his job.
