IntroductionIndonesia has a high smoking prevalence that has not diminished significantly since 1990. Considering this, we aim to summarise the existing national tobacco-related policy mix and explore markers of policy incoherence in tobacco control between 2014 and 2020.MethodsWe conducted (1) a review and synthesis of Indonesian tobacco-related legislation and regulations; (2) a systematic search and synthesis of related literature and news reporting; and (3) interviews with tobacco control activists and academics to understand political will towards tobacco control regulations and the tobacco industry.ResultsIndonesia’s existing tobacco-related policy mix lies across the president’s office, six national ministries and one independent agency. However, current responsibility lies primarily with four government ministries: Ministries of Health, Finance, Communication and Information, and Trade and Industry, with the Ministry of Finance most active. Evidence demonstrates that official interministerial collaboration was lacking from 2014 to 2020 and suggests that institutional will to introduce more effective tobacco control varies considerably between different arms of government.DiscussionPolitical will differs according to ministerial mandates and priorities, fostering a fragmented policy approach and undermining the development of a coherent response. Without political will from the president or national parliament to create an overarching framework for tobacco control, either via ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control or another mechanism, there remains no formal impetus for intragovernmental cooperation. Nonetheless, this analysis reveals some government progress and ‘pressure points’ that advocates can focus on to promote tobacco control policies within the current policy mix.
In Indonesia, the national universal health coverage scheme (Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional [JKN]) has consistently overspent against its budget since it was introduced in 2014. In 2017, a new regulation diverted 37.5% of tobacco tax revenue collected at the district and city level to the central government in order to increase government contributions to the JKN. Through a review of policy documents and interviews and focus group discussions with relevant stakeholders, this article explores the history of the JKN and its relationship to local tobacco taxes. Offering an ex‐post assessment of the policy and its implementation, we find it negative on three fronts: funding for local anti‐smoking initiatives and services was cut, the procedures for implementing the policy were complex and time‐consuming, and it did not contribute as much as anticipated to the JKN. These findings underscore potential pitfalls of politically motivated policy that fails to consider implementation and impact. We recommend that the policy be revoked, and local tobacco tax revenue reallocated to its initial purpose, which includes promoting local smoking prevention programs and health service delivery.
This chapter illustrates how the corrupt activities of Suharto, his cronies, and his family fueled antigovernment sentiment, even though the movement itself did not take form until after 1998. The new freedoms of Indonesia's reformasi era, combined with the backing of foreign donors, created space for the formation of new nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) with the explicit mandate to oppose corruption. As this chapter explains, these NGOs played a central role in the formation of the Commission for the Eradication of Corruption (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi, KPK) in 2003 and the defense of it against attacks from 2009. The movement also developed a presence at a local level, in response to the proliferation of corruption as a result of decentralization. These local movements have had mixed success, struggling with a lack of resources. Ultimately, however, the most significant obstacle the anticorruption movement faces is the lack of support from the elite level, because without it the movement remains constrained by a political system that fosters corruption.
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