Corresponding Author: Muhammad
Tarmizi
E-mail: [email protected]
INTRODUCTION
Indonesian
citizens tend to consider acts of corruption committed by government officials
common in this country. They often choose not to care about the corrupt
behavior around them because corruption is considered commonplace. The term
corruption is familiar to Indonesian people as if it has never been separated
from our lives. Reports about corruption are often found through print,
electronic, and social media (Hariyani et al., 2019, pp. 32-33).
The highest leaders of the central government, who should be role models
for all their subordinates, are also involved in criminal acts of corruption.
By the end of 2023, Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) has named the
Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL), as a suspect in an alleged
corruption case which is alleged to have caused losses to the state amounting
to IDR 13.9 billion. Prior to that, in the same year, the Minister of Communication
and Information, Johnny G Plate, was also named by the Indonesian Attorney
General's Office as a suspect in the alleged corruption case in the provision
of 4G Base Transceiver Station (BTS) towers which were estimated to cost the
state IDR 8 trillion. Even the highest leader of the KPK, Firli Bahuri, was
also named as a suspect suspected of being involved in an extortion corruption
case at the end of 2023 (Nugroho, 2023).
The
Corruption Perception Index (CPI) said that Indonesia experienced a decline of
four points in 2022, namely getting a score of 34. In 2023, the score is still
the same, and there is no improvement. The CPI is a composite measure used to
assess perceptions of corruption in the public sector, ranging from 0 (very
corrupt) to 100 (very clean), and is applied in 180 countries. Deputy Secretary
General of Transparency International Indonesia, Wawan Suyatmiko, said that
Indonesia experienced a decline in ranking to 115th out of 180 countries
surveyed. This value is decreased by four points from the previous year, namely
38, which indicates that this decline is the most significant since 1995. This
data shows that the level of corruption in Indonesia is still very high and has
the potential to harm the economy and financial stability of the country (Ni�am & Santosa, 2023: 1-2).
The KPK Annual Report explains that married couples have a significant
role in cases of criminal acts of corruption committed by their partners who
hold positions as public officials or state civil servants. Even married
couples who are also state officials also work together to commit acts of
corruption. One example of a new case that occurred in 2023 is the case of
Bupati Kapuas, Ben Brahim Bahat, and his wife Ary Egahni, who is also a member
of Commission III DPR RI as suspects in the alleged crime of corruption,
cutting the ASN payment budget and bribes of up to IDR 8.7 billion (Syakim,
2023). Besides that, the corruption case that was committed by a married couple
was the former General Treasurer of the Democratic Party, Muhammad Nazaruddin,
and his wife, Neneng Sri Wahyuni, who were proven to be involved in the bribery
case for the Athlete's House project in 2012. Nazaruddin and Neneng fled abroad
and became fugitives from Interpol. Nazaruddin was arrested in Cartagena,
Colombia.
Meanwhile, Neneng was arrested by the KPK at her residence in Pejaten
when she returned from fleeing abroad. Another case is the former Governor of
Sumatera Utara, Gatot Pujo Nugroho, and his wife, Evy Susanti, whom the KPK
detained because of a bribery case against three judges and clerks at the State
Administrative Court of Sumatera Utara. There is also a corruption case
committed by the former Bupati Bengkulu, Dirwan Mahmud, and his wife, Hendrati,
who were involved in a bribery case for five bridge projects with a project
value of IDR 750 million, as well as many other examples of state civil servant
couples who were involved or involved their partners in corruption cases (Saptohutomo,
2023).
Some cases of criminal acts of corruption mentioned above show that
several state officials, perhaps intentionally or unknowingly, have involved
their partners in these acts of corruption. The married couples were entangled
in corrupt behavior, which was very far from the moral values of
a family. This action was suspected of being triggered by interpersonal
communication, which continuously led to negative actions.
Interpersonal communication in a family has a very significant impact on
influencing the opinions, attitudes, and behavior of partners, especially those
who are in the environment around us. This type of communication is closely
related to closeness and intimacy, where the message directly impacts the
partner. Interpersonal communication among married couples has proven to be
very effective in positively changing their partners' opinions, attitudes, and
behavior, especially in building an anti-corruption culture in the family (Widiyanto, 2020, p. 104).
KPK's guidebook states that countries with the lowest levels of
corruption in the world, such as Denmark, Finland, and New Zealand, have now
integrated the concept of family in efforts to prevent corruption in their
countries. These three countries occupy the top rankings in the 2023 CPI with
scores of 90, 87, and 85 out of 100. Transparency International has also
recommended that families be considered to prevent corruption globally (KPK, 2023).
The Indonesian government has also implemented a corruption prevention
program managed by the KPK, known as the "Family-Based Corruption
Prevention Program." This program significantly relies on the family's
role as the front guard in forming anti-corruption values in all
family members so that values such as honesty and responsibility
can truly become part of every individual in the family (Hidayati, 2021, pp. 60-61).
Medan City is
a metropolitan city and is the third largest city in Indonesia after DKI
Jakarta and Surabaya (Jamna, 2023). The KPK released the results of the Integrity Assessment Survey
in 2022, which showed that the Medan City government had the lowest level of
integrity in Indonesia, with an index of 61.69 (Aldi, 2023). This shows that life in Medan City is still very vulnerable to
corruption. Many people look for fun after a day of busy and tiring activities.
Apart from that, life in a big city is also prone to being carried away by
excessive style and must always keep up with current developments. It cannot be
denied that the hedonistic life and pleasure they seek in big cities require
quite a lot of money. Hence, those who work as public officials or state civil
servants in big cities have the potential to commit acts of corruption.
The causes of
corruption can be explained through various views and theories. One is found in
the GONE Theory (Restya & Amalia, 2019). The first is Greedy, where individuals are always dissatisfied
with what they have. Second is Opportunity, which arises when there is a lack
of supervision or office position supporting acts of corruption. Third is
Needs, where lacking someone's needs strongly encourages them to commit
corruptive actions. Finally, there is Exposure, where the perpetrator of
corruption faces the consequences if his actions are revealed (Rahayu et al., 2021: 1865). Based on the above background, this study aims to analyze
interpersonal communication patterns, analyze the form of messages, and analyze
interpersonal communication barriers in building an anti-corruption culture in
the families of customs office employees in the city of Medan.
METHOD
This research
adopts a qualitative research method because it is considered effective in
detailing the problem thoroughly and integrating a phenomenological approach to
explore the general meaning attached to each individual's life experience.
Phenomenology aims to observe and clarify individuals' understanding of a
phenomenon, forming meaning from their experiences (Haryono, 2020, p. 193).
Research
subjects refer to individuals or objects that focus on obtaining the desired
information, as stated (Arikunto, 2012). He said that research subjects are entities, phenomena, or
individuals where relevant data for research variables are discovered and
debated. The researcher used purposive techniques to select informants as
research subjects. The author uses a purposive technique by establishing the
necessary criteria to answer the research questions.
In this
study, the researcher determined informants as research subjects, namely those
who met the following criteria:
1)
Customs
officers who are married and live in Medan City;
2)
Customs
officers who have received awards as Officer of the Month or OfficerOfficer of
the Year.
Data Collection Technique
In-Depth Interview
Esterberg stated that interviews have three types, namely
structured, semi-structured, and unstructured interviews (Sugiyono & Lestari, 2021, pp.
530-531). This research was conducted using unstructured interviews, where
the researcher prepared an interview guide with outline points of the
questions, which were then developed during the interview process. The
researcher met directly with the informant to get verbal and nonverbal
messages, which were then recorded properly. In addition, the researcher
prepared a device to record activities during the interview so that the data
collected was more valid.
The researcher asked the informants a couple of questions related
to the research focus, namely, how are the patterns of interpersonal
communication in building an anti-corruption culture, what are the forms of
interpersonal communication messages in building an anti-corruption culture,
and what are the obstacles to interpersonal communication in building an
anti-corruption culture among customs officers' families in Medan City?
Observation
Sanafiah Faisal (1990) classified observation into three parts:
participant observation, overt/disguised observation, and unstructured
observation. Participant observation is divided into four parts, namely
passive, moderate, active, and complete participation (Sugiyono & Lestari, 2021, p.
522).
The observations carried out in this research were passive
participant observation, where the researcher only came to the informant's
place. However, the researcher was not involved in the activities carried out
by the subjects (Sugiyono & Lestari, 2021, p.
523). The researcher was not directly involved in all the activities
of the married couples in conveying anti-corruption messages but observed the
married couples' opinions, attitudes, and behavior during interviews at the
research location.
Data Analysis Technique
(Miles et al., 2014) said that data analysis in qualitative research is carried out
interactively and continuously until the data has reached saturation (Sugiyono & Lestari, 2021, p.
546). There are a couple of activities in analyzing data (Miles et al., 2014, pp. 12-14), namely:
Data Condensation
Data condensation refers to the process of selecting, focusing,
abstracting, simplifying, and transforming the collected data. This process was
carried out after the researcher conducted interviews and obtained written data
in the field. The data compiled and grouped in this research is based on
informants' experiences in overcoming corruption problems in the customs office
environment through interpersonal communication patterns in the family
environment, analyzing message forms, and analyzing obstacle factors in
interpersonal communication (Amrullah, 2022).
Data Display
In this
study, the researcher displayed data in the form of narrative text as part of
the qualitative approach. The researcher reconstructs the condensed information
systematically so the results will be better.
Conclusion Drawing and
Verification
In the final stage, the researcher concludes
and verifies the data. The researcher draws some conclusions that attempt to
answer the research focus in the previous chapter, namely regarding the
patterns of interpersonal communication in the family environment, forms of
communication messages, and obstacles to interpersonal communication in
building an anti-corruption culture among customs officers' families in Medan
City.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Patterns of Interpersonal Communication in
Building an Anti-Corruption Culture Among Customs Officers� Families in Medan
City
Communication is an interaction between two or more people
involving various elements, such as the sender and recipient of a message,
which aims to form a harmonious relationship, achieve common goals, and
understand each other. Communication patterns are how messages are conveyed
from the sender to the recipient, which aims to influence the recipients'
opinions, attitudes, and behavior. Communication patterns are methods of
sending messages or information using symbols such as symbols or through direct
interaction by the agreement of both parties, which aims to change behavior to
be more positive and ensure the message is conveyed clearly (Thariq, 2018).
Using communication patterns in the family, especially between
husband and wife, is the best way to influence and provide motivational
encouragement to oneself and one's partner (Punyanunt-Carter et al., 2019). The role of a life partner is very significant in teaching many
values, from the smallest to the largest, because a life partner can provide
direction, influence individual behavior, and even shape their life partner's
views on things that are considered positive or negative (Sahertian et al., 2021).
Based on interviews conducted by the researcher with all
informants, interpersonal communication among customs officers' families plays
a vital role in forming and building an anti-corruption culture in Medan City.
Nowadays, especially in our country, the term corruption is no longer foreign
to our ears. Many Indonesians no longer care about state officials who often
commit corruption because they think this act is common. Forming an
anti-corruption attitude can start from the family.
Communication patterns are key to fulfilling family functions (Zulhajji et al., 2021). Each family's communication patterns are different, depending on
which pattern is most appropriate for each family. Family communication
patterns consist of four types: equality pattern, balanced split pattern,
unbalanced split pattern, and monopoly pattern (DeVito, 2012).
The results of this research show that the pattern of
interpersonal communication in building an anti-corruption culture among
customs officers' families in Medan City uses an equality pattern. This is
because all informants agreed to say that when communicating with their life
partner, there is no difference between them or who dominates, and no one
monopolizes the conversation. Informants and their partners have freedom of
opinion and argument. Married couples have equality in expressing opinions and are
also equal in terms of the knowledge they possess. Communication is carried out
in a balanced and equal manner.
The next thing is that a married couple must work together and
support each other to carry out good things in their family. Disgraceful acts
must be kept away from the principles of a family. Approaching God, being
grateful often, and being humble are some of the best ways to form an
anti-corruption culture in a family. Mutual openness, affection, and caring for
each other's feelings between husband and wife are also the best ways to
communicate effectively with their partner.
Effective communication in a family is necessary to maintain
family harmony. It can improve interpersonal relationships, manage and resolve
personal conflicts, reduce uncertainty, and facilitate the exchange of
knowledge and experience with other individuals. Communication is considered
effective when the message reflects the sender's intentions and is understood
by the recipient (Liliweri, 2017).
The
Forms of Communication Messages in Building an Anti-Corruption Culture Among
Customs Officers� Families in Medan City
Communication is vital to human life because it allows individuals
to convey various ideas. In every communication interaction, the message is a
critical element that must be conveyed through suitable media, using language
that can be understood, using simple and appropriate words, and having a clear
purpose so that the recipient quickly understands it.
A message is a signal or combination of signals that triggers the
recipient's response. Messages can be in the form of signs or symbols, and some
of these signs are universally understood by most people throughout the world (Rangkuti, 2021). According to Onong Effendy, a message is a combination of a
person's thoughts and feelings conveyed to others using symbols, language, or
other symbols in the communication process.
Humans build communication through messages (Liliweri, 2017). Messages include all information sent by the communicator.
Messages have a core that serves as a guide in efforts to change the attitudes
and behavior of communicants. Messages can be seen in terms of substance or
content. (Widjaja et al., 2002) Divided messages into three, namely informative, persuasive, and
coercive.
a.
Informative
The first type of message is
informative. This message includes information in the form of facts and data,
from which the communicant draws their conclusions and decisions. Sometimes,
informative messages can be more effective in certain situations than persuasive
ones.
b.
Persuasive
In the persuasive form, the
message contains an invitation to arouse human understanding and awareness that
our message can change their attitude. This change is a voluntary change of
will. This kind of change is not the result of coercion but is accepted openly
by the recipient.
c.
Coercive
Coercive
messaging is a type of forceful message. Those who do not comply will receive
certain sanctions. One common form of coercive messaging is agitation, which
emphasizes and creates psychological pressure among the public. Coercive
messages can take the form of orders and instructions.
In this
research, the researcher found that the forms of communication messages used by
the customs officers' families in building an anti-corruption culture were
informative and persuasive. When married couples communicate about corruption,
they often provide information about the dangers of corruption, provide the
latest information about state officials or civil servants who are involved in
corruption cases, and inform them that corruption is a disgraceful act
prohibited by the state and religion. Apart from that, married couples also
always try to remind each other and persuade their partners not to get involved
in corruption cases, always adopt a simple lifestyle, always be grateful to God
for what they have, and always encourage honest actions when carrying out their
duties, which aims to make family life happy, calm, and blessed.
The Barriers to Interpersonal
Communication in Building an Anti-Corruption Culture Among Customs Officers�
Families in Medan City
Communication barriers are something that can hinder or interfere
with creating effective communication. Communication barriers will make it
challenging to convey clear messages, make it difficult for the recipient to
understand, and make it difficult to receive feedback and return. Technically,
noise is anything that distorts a message. In extreme cases, noise can block a
message from reaching its destination. Joseph A. Devito stated that there are
four types of barriers to interpersonal communication (DeVito, 2012), namely:
a.
Physical
Noise
Physical
noise is an obstacle that comes from outside the communicator or communicant.
These obstacles block the physical transmission of the signal or message being
conveyed. Examples include the screeching of passing cars, the hum of a
computer, wearing sunglasses, extraneous messages, illegible handwriting,
blurred text or fonts that are too small or hard to read, misspellings, poor
grammar, and pop-up ads. Another form of physical noise is extraneous
information that makes it harder to find what you need, such as spam or an
excess of photos on Facebook.
b.
Physiological
Noise
Physiological
noise is an obstacle between the communicator and the communicant. For example,
communicators or communicants have vision problems such as nearsightedness or
farsightedness, hearing loss, memory loss, and unclear articulation when
speaking.
c.
Psychological
Noise
Psychological noise is an obstacle to mental disorders for both
communicators and communicants. They have preconceived ideas and are
prejudiced, closed-minded, and emotional. We tend to experience psychological
noise when talking to someone who is closed-minded or refuses to listen to
anything he does not already believe.
d.
Semantic
Noise
Semantic
noise is interference that occurs when the speaker and listener have different
meaning systems; examples include language or dialectical differences, jargon
or overly complex terms, and ambiguous or overly abstract terms whose meanings
can be easily misinterpreted. Although the words used may be appropriate, they
may have different connotations in a particular social, psychological, or time
context, resulting in the message's recipient providing a different
interpretation from the sender's intended meaning. This semantic noise occurs
when someone experiences different perceptions of the person they are talking
to.
Married couples who are not civil servants tend to have less
knowledge regarding corruption because their work is outside the government.
Meanwhile, partners who work in government offices are generally more often
faced with situations where corruption is known and well understood due to
circumstances, appeals from leadership, the latest information, or getting
other news related to corruption, so there are many terms in corruption that
his partner who does not work in government is not yet aware of. Therefore,
this difference in perception is a barrier to interpersonal communication in
building an anti-corruption culture among customs officers' families in Medan
City.
In this study, the researcher found that semantic and
psychological noises were the barriers to interpersonal communication in
building an anti-corruption culture among customs officers' families in Medan
City. The semantic noise is because their partners, who are not civil servants,
tend to have less knowledge regarding the term "corruption" or feel
unfamiliar because their work is not in government, so there are differences in
perception between them when communicating. Meanwhile, psychological noise is caused
by a bad mood when communicating, caused by many thoughts and much work
experienced by married couples. The results of the study in the field are in
accordance with what is in the theory of interpersonal communication by Joseph
A. Devito, namely the Equality Communication Pattern.
CONCLUSION
The pattern of interpersonal
communication in building an anti-corruption culture among customs officers'
families in Medan City is an equality pattern. This is because all informants
agreed to say that when communicating with their life partners, there are no
differences between them or who dominates and monopolizes when communicating in
discussions of corruption. Informants and their partners have freedom of
opinion and argument. Husband and wife have equality in expressing opinions.
Communication is carried out in a balanced and equal manner. The communication
used by the customs officers' families in Medan City to build an
anti-corruption culture is an informative and persuasive message. When married
couples communicate about corruption, they often tell information about the
dangers of corruption, tell the latest information about state officials or
civil servants who are involved in corruption cases, and inform them that
corruption is a disgraceful act prohibited by the state and religion. Apart
from that, married couples also always try to remind each other and persuade
their partners not to get involved in corruption cases, always adopt a simple
lifestyle, always be grateful to God for what they have, and always encourage
honest actions when carrying out duties, which aims to make family life calm
and happy. This form of informative and persuasive message is conveyed both
verbally and nonverbally.The barriers to interpersonal communication in
building an anti-corruption culture among customs officers' families in Medan
City are semantic and psychological noise. The semantic noise is because
married couples who are not civil servants tend to have less knowledge about
"corruption" or feel unfamiliar. After all, their work is not in
government, so their perception differences exist between them when
communicating. Meanwhile, psychological noises are caused by the married couple
experiencing a bad mood when communicating, which is caused by many thoughts
and much work experienced by them. Therefore, this is a barrier to
interpersonal communication when building an anti-corruption culture among
customs officers' families in Medan City. It is hoped that more research on
family communication related to building an anti-corruption culture will be
carried out so that Indonesia becomes a country free from corruption and can
soon realize its dream of becoming a developed country by 2045.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author would like to express his
praise and gratitude to Allah SWT who has given His help and love to the author
o that he can complete the writing of this research on time. The author also
does not forget to express his deepest gratitude to the Ministry of Communication
Informatocs (KOMINFO) for financial aid in carrying out this research.
REFERENCES
Aldi, N. (2023). Survei KPK:
Integritas Pemkot Medan Paling Rendah se-Indonesia. Detik.Com.
Amrullah, F. (2022). Penerapan
Komunikasi Interpersonal Dalam Menjaga Keharmonisan Keluarga. Jurnal Singkat Hukum, 11(3), 1962�1966.
Arikunto, S. (2012). Prosedur penelitian tindakan kelas. Bumi
Aksara, 136(2), 2�3.
DeVito, J. A. (2012). The interpersonal communication book
13th edition. Pearson.
Hariyani, H. F., Priyarsono, D. S., & Asmara, A. (2019).
Analisis Faktor - Faktor yang Mempengaruhi Korupsi di Kawasan Asia Pasifik. Jurnal
Ekonomi Dan Kebijakan Pembangunan, 5(2), 32�44.
Haryono, C. G. (2020). Ragam Metode Penelitian Kualitatif
Komunikasi. Sukabumi : CV Jejak (Jejak Publisher).
Hidayati, S. (2021). Optimalisasi Fungsi Keluarga Sebagai
Strategi Pemberantasan Korupsi. Jurnal KELUARGA, 7(1), 59�70.
Jamna, S. A. (2023). 5 Kota Terbesar di Indonesia, Nomor 1
Jumlah Penduduk Sangat Padat. Okezone.
KPK. (2023). Belajar dari Tiga Negara
Paling Antikorupsi di Dunia. Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi.
Liliweri, A. (2017). Komunikasi antar
personal. Prenada Media.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative
Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook. America: Sage Publications.
Ni�am, S., & Santosa, B. (2023). Indeks
Persepsi Korupsi Indonesia pada 2022 Merosot 4 Poin Jadi 34. Kompas.Com.
Nugroho, R. A. (2023). KPK Ungkap
Modus Dugaan Korupsi-Pemerasan di Kementan. CNBC Indonesia.
Punyanunt-Carter, N. M., LaFreniere, J. R., Norman, M. S.,
& Colwell, M. J. (2019). Analyzing college students from divorced and
intact families and their family communication patterns and interpersonal
communication motives. Southern Communication Journal, 84(4),
219�232.
Rahayu, N. K. D., Endiana, I. D. M., & Arizona, I. P. E.
(2021). Peran E-Procurement Terhadap Pencegahan Fraud pada Pengadaan
Barang/Jasa dengan Komunikasi, Sumber Daya, Disposisi dan Struktur Birokrasi
Sebagai Pemoderasi (Studi Kasus Pada Biro Pengadaan Barang/Jasa Setda Provinsi
Bali). JURNAL KARMA (Karya Riset Mahasiswa Akuntansi), 1(6),
1864�1871.
Rangkuti, A. T. (2021). Pola Komunikasi Antarpribadi Guru
Bimbingan Konseling dalam Mengatasi Siswa Bermasalah. Persepsi:
Communication Journal, 4(1), 43�59.
Restya, W. P. D., & Amalia, H. (2019). Asia Pacific
Fraud Journal.
Sahertian, C. D. W., Sahertian, B. A., & Wajabula, A. E.
(2021). Interpersonal communication within the family for improving adolescent
religiosity. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 77(4).
Saptohutomo, A. P. (2023). Bupati Kapuas dan Istri Ditahan
KPK, Ini Deretan Pasutri yang Korupsi. Kompas.Com.
https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2023/03/29/11160831/bupati-kapuas-dan-istri-ditahan-kpk-ini-deretan-pasutri-yang-korupsi?page=all
Sugiyono, & Lestari, P. (2021). Metode
Penelitian Komunikasi (Kuantitatif, Kualitatif, Analisis Teks, Cara Menulis
Artikel untuk Jurnal Nasional dan Internasional). Bandung: Alfabeta.
Thariq, M. (2018). Interpersonal communication role for
self-concept of children and families. Budapest International Research and
Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal), 1(2), 181�194.
Widiyanto, H. (2020). Konsep Pernikahan dalam Islam (Studi
Fenomenologis Penundaan Pernikahan di Masa Pandemi). Jurnal Islam Nusantara,
4(1), 103�110.
Widjaja, H. A. W., Daerah, O., & Otonom, D. (2002). Raja Grafindo Persada. Jakarta.
Zulhajji, Z., Thoyyibah, Z., &
Suhartono, S. (2021). Development
Of Information Systems Orphanage (E-Orphanage) Web-Based. JTKSI (Jurnal
Teknologi Komputer Dan Sistem Informasi), 4(3), 122�129.
