Penang, Malaysia, The PRAKARSA - On December 1-2, 2023, The PRAKARSA had the opportunity to attend the ASEAN For Good Governance: Addressing Cross-Border Corruption and Transnational Crime meeting organized by The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism Malaysia (C4 Center).
Taking place in Penang, Malaysia, this meeting is a platform for civil society organizations in the ASEAN region to unite, share experiences, and chart a common direction in overcoming the urgent problem of cross-border corruption, realizing that this problem is very threatening for a diverse and mutually exclusive region. connected like ASEAN.
Some of the issues raised at this meeting included cross-border cigarette smuggling and the exploitation of migrant workers through corrupt recruitment processes. These issues are considered important because they have become part of a complex network of corruption spread across the ASEAN region.
As host, the C4 Center at this meeting also presented their 2 latest research reports entitled "Uncovering Smuggling of Cigarettes" and "Corruption in Migrant Workers Recruitment Process". Both studies include an investigation into the illicit trade in tobacco products across ASEAN borders, all the way to Malaysia, highlighting the economic consequences and pressure it places on government structures, and providing a critical look at the recruitment of migrant workers in Malaysia, exposing corrupt practices that perpetuate human rights violations (HAM) and human smuggling activities.
In line with this topic, the Executive Director of The PRAKARSA, Ah Maftuchan, on this occasion also explained the results of the research PRAKARSA related to the illegal cigarette trade in Indonesia. "The research carried out in 2019 focused on three aspects, namely the size and demand for illegal cigarettes, factors that influence the consumption of illegal cigarettes, and the price elasticity of demand for substitute cigarettes," he said.
Maftuchan further said that from this study it was found that the volume of illegal cigarettes in Indonesia was very small, less than 2 percent. This study also found that smokers with higher incomes were less likely to have consumed illegal cigarette products. Although people with lower incomes are more likely to smoke illegal cigarettes, illegal cigarette consumption is not a long-term behavior.
Maftuchan also said that in the future PRAKARSA Will return to research on this topic. "In the future, PRAKARSA plans to conduct research on the illicit trade in cigarettes across national borders," he said.
