Penta-Helix Model of E-Government in Combating Corruption in Indonesia and Malaysia: The Moderating Effect of Religiosity

The e-government

E-government implementation in Malaysia began seriously in 1996. In that year, the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project was launched by the government, and e-government was one of the essential components of the flagship application introduced in the MSC. The e-government implementation is intended to increase the community’s productivity and public services quality. In addition, an introduction about e-government will enable people to access services faster, increase competitiveness, and reduce the digital divide in society.

A study by Ramli²¹ found that as far as e-government implementation challenges are concerned, several enhancements require consideration. For example, there is a low infrastructure technical quality, unstable connectivity, slow speed connection, and limited internet access in certain rural areas. In terms of the structure of legislative, Malaysia has restrictive laws and regulations, outdated regulations, redundant acts, and both security and privacy concerns. Furthermore, Malaysia faced financial constraints of insufficient funds and the necessity on improving the partnership on the public-private. In terms of human infrastructure, it was found that Malaysia did not have an individualistic culture.

Meanwhile, citizens and public officials are slow in adapting to changes. The officials’ public are having difficulty changing in the initial implementation phase, and lack skills as well as expertise, little motivation, and changing management of training. In addition, there is limited integration and coordination, and the issues of federal-state power slow down the implementation of the pace. Issues such as accountability, transparency, and corruption are always associated with the procurement system in Malaysia. This is a major concern of the stakeholders, especially regarding mismanagement and wastage of public money. Contractors and stakeholders demand transparency in the procurement system. Selecting succeeded contractors based on cronyism and personal relationships rather than professional evaluation has become a serious phenomenon. The procurement officers and tender boards were blamed for non-compliance and malpractice with procurement procedures and policies.²²

Hamzah et al., found that government bureaucracies have created barriers to government services and caused poor accountability and transparency, thus, discouraging citizens’ dealings with government agencies.²³ Therefore, society must change and be open to technology. The e-government must quickly implemented so that the citizens and government can make a connection to the virtual space that created and strengthened through the leadership that support governance framework.²³ The government acknowledges that technology enables various social problems, including corruption, to be addressed and will continue to find the best mechanisms by using the latest technologies to combat corruption. As stated by Ramli, a positive connection between corruption and e-government when society reaches high level of economic growth and development.²⁴ This is also supported by Rustiarini and Sudiartana, where different organizational and external factors change the e-government functions’ effectiveness in fighting corruption.²⁵

In Malaysia, the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2019–2023 states that technology can be used to prevent corruption where complaints are obtained through open public sources with transparent processes. The electronic process has seen procurement and payments activities run more transparently through digital transactions, reducing the risk of corruption.²⁴ The latest technology, which indirectly creates a safer audit trail, is more reliable and trusted by stakeholders. In addition, information technology facilitates access to information and promotes transparency and openness that contribute to fair and equitable competition for the government and the market. Therefore, through the digitalization of the civil service, bureaucracy and the risk of corruption and government costs can be reduced.²⁶

For Indonesia, attempts have been made to eradicate corruption. The Indonesian government focuses more on reporting the application of electronic-based state finances, starting from local governments to the central government and maximizing the institution of an independent corruption eradication commission. In addition, the implementation of e-audit in financial audit institutions aims to examine the use of state finances more quickly and accurately. Therefore, implementing e-government and e-audit in every part of the government office can reduce acts of fraud and corruption in government institutions.

Anti-corruption strategy

One of the strategies to prevent acts of corruption is to implement e-government. A study by Alhammadi and Alhadramy highlights the actions to prevent corruption through the implementation of e-government which includes²⁷:

Penta-helix model

The penta-helix model is often used in fields related to socio-economic development. The model contains five important elements namely (i) public, (ii) private, (iii) academia, (iv) society, and (v) entrepreneurs. These five elements support the achievement of the economic development level. They have roles and functions in the development of society. The penta-helix model helps to improve the economy through innovation and entrepreneurship, and collaboration and synergy among the players.^3–6 They are agents of local economic change and promote sustainability in economic activities. Therefore, the economic development of an area will be determined by their commitment and contribution.

In achieving the socio-economic development goals, these five parties must ensure that the goals are running smoothly. Therefore, close cooperation and understanding must be established. The importance of a synergistic relationship between the five components in the penta-helix model is vital, where the interaction between these components will result in innovation and knowledge and create dynamics of an innovation-based economy.^8,28 Such synergistic relationships include ensuring that economic activities are conducted ethically by avoiding activities that contribute to elements of corruption in business. This is because these elements are interdependent in the business ecosystem, and corrupt activities can be avoided if each of these elements acts seriously to address them. Therefore, each key player must have a sense of responsibility and work together so that the relationship established contributes to fair and equitable economic development.

Fraud triangle dimension

Fraud is defined in various ways. However, the focus is a person’s deceitful behavior that is designed to benefit oneself by misrepresentation.²⁹ A fraudulent financial statement is a designed act that impacts in a misstatement material in the financial statements. Meanwhile, Sihombing and Rahardj³⁰ said that fraudulent financial reports are intentionally produced in financial statements that are not in conformance with commonly accepted principles of accounting. Fraudulent reports are material and can influence the decisions of attentive parties. Compatible with the Australian Audit Standard in US and European, a fraudulence financial report is an premeditated misstatement, as well as the omission of amounts or a leak in financial statements to mislead the users of these statements.³¹

The theory of fraud was first expressed by Skousen et al.,¹⁹ which consisted of insurmountable financial issues, opportunities to commit violations and rationalization by offenders. Over time, Cressey’s hypothesis developed rapidly and became known as “the fraud triangle”. Details about the fraud triangle are depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Fraud Triangle Theory.

Religiosity

Individual behavior patterns are affected by a set of values consisting of intrinsic and extrinsic values. One aspect of these values is the religious value.³² Religious values are those that inspire self-confidence and faith in an individual. These values guide an individual to act obediently and honestly in dealing with daily activities.³³ A person’s religious values can affect self-control and reduce deviant behavior.^34,35 A study found that religiosity positively correlates with risk-averse actions. In fact, in the case of some religions and religious people tend to avoid risky actions such as corruption.³⁶

However, there is another perception of corruption based on religiosity and social trust. The view rests on the belief that a higher divine power will punish individuals for their evil deeds in this lifetime or next. With these beliefs, people will not engage in corrupt behavior, and there is no need to monitor the corrupt behaviors of others,^37,38 including in government institutions.³⁹ In addition, trust in other people and law enforcement systems may reduce the demand for accountability of actions. Furthermore, fewer actions are required to monitor the elected officials by having more religious government officials.⁴⁰

A person’s level of faith can indirectly influence a politician into political corruption. Religious assistance is shown both empirically and theoretically to increase political aid⁴¹ and civic commitment.^42,43 However, the motives behind such commitment could be due to rent-seeking, which increases political corruption. In addition, there are other economic motivations for those who are religious: religion can add to an individual’s moral character, as a principal value in transaction of the marketplace.⁴⁴ Futhermore, people in the same organization can be more tolerant of corrupt behavior carried out by others who are part of the same organization’.⁴⁵

Investigations of the relationship between religiosity and corruption hace found different results.⁴⁶ Research in the United States shows that there is no relationship between the level of corruption and religiosity.⁴⁶ Futhermore, in tests done globally, a negative relationship between the level of corruption and religiosity has been founf.⁴⁷ However, this study did not control certain standard variables associated with corruption, such as per-capita GDP, cultural colonialism or the effectiveness of the legal system. A study by Yahya et al.,⁴⁸ found that employee religiosity and organizational culture are essential in determining the corruption millennial employment. This finding suggests that it is important for management to emphasize the importance of a positive inconclusive organizational culture and religious awareness among employees. A study by Barbier et al.,⁴⁹ found a negative relationship between individuals’ religiosity and their responses to what is “justifiability of corruption,” thus, suggesting there is no aggregate government corruption.

Corruption is detrimental to the overall well-being of a country’s economic system. While legal enforcement systems are available in the majority of countries, corruption still exists. Many researchers have analyzed the factors that correlate with corruption in different countrie and one of the main factors that influence the level of corruption is religiosity.⁵⁰ However, previous research has had very little explicit focus on the difference between religion and religiosity. A study by Gokcekus and Ekici uses data from various countries and experiments with varying measures of religiosity.⁵⁰ The empirical proof indicates that religiosity, rather than a religious affiliation, influences corruption levels. Societies that are more religious typically have higher levels of corruption, despite the country’s religious affiliation.

E-government corruption effect

The primary cause of corruption in the government sector is the asymmetry of information between the government and public. Consequently, this can result in bureaucrats setting ambiguous standards of government service. This facilitates bribery through secret contacts with the public, and the public is more likely to respond to the agreement.⁵¹ E-government can reduce corruption because it can control corruption through transparency,⁵² disclosure, and the monitoring of government administration using technology.^53,54 Research reveals that e-government is beneficial in reducing corruption.^55–59 In terms of the use of e-government in the community, more attention is given to the transparency, objectivity, publication of government budget information, and feedback related to services and policies.⁶⁰ The solutions offered by the e-government expect sophistication from a technical perspective. Furthermore, they require a complete reorientation of the bureaucracy, especially, the awareness to conduct duties and functions to be neutral and genuinely in the mission of public service.⁶⁰

Therefore, e-government is essential in preventing corruption if the maturity of e-government implementation involves public participation in information, public participation in supervising the government, and actions from government officials that substantially increase transparency.^61–62 Furthermore, the synergy between academics, businesses, the community, media, NGOs, and governments are elements of the penta-helix. Therefore, this study hypothesized that:

E-government, religiosity and corruption

People with intrinsic religiosity can be defined as people having reached a certain level of personal integrity and maturity. They have made an unconditional commitment toward religion and make decisions independently. Religious orientation becomes an inseparable part of one’s religious maturity.³³ Specifically, religiosity refers to a person’s belief, practice, experience, identity, and attitude.⁶³ For Muslims, religiosity means adherence to God and desire to be a good person.¹⁸

Research by McGee et al.,⁶⁴ and Shadabi⁶⁵ has highlighted that religion could influence human behavior and individual decision making. A study found that religiosity can moderate the relationship between corruption and e-government because a person’s reaction is dependant on their beliefs, values and responsibilities.³³ In addition, Said et al.,⁶⁶ identified that religiosity is significantly give impact to asset misappropriation. Higher religiosity in a person lowers the probability of asset misappropriation. Therefore, individuals with a high level of religiosity would attempt to avoid deviant actions.⁶⁷ Therefore, a religious background and knowledge instilled in an individual can help reduce their level of corruption because they can control themselves in facing normal situations and irregularities within the workplace.³⁴ Hence, religiosity can prevent individuals from committing fraud and corruption.³³ Therefore, based on previous studies, this study hypothesized that:

Figure 2. Research Model of Corruption.

The penta-helix model is used in this diagram to predict the forms, causes, and efforts that prevent corruption. This study involved five group of participants from both the Indonesian and Malaysian Governments, businesses, community, academia, and the media. The moderating of religiosity highlights how humans behave and comply with rules and regulations. This determines how people react when facing the risk of corruption and fraud.⁶¹

The fraud triangle theory in the diagram indicates that “rationalization” is a perspective related to moral and psychological elements, which are essential in identifying the causes unethical behavior.⁶⁸ Religiosity can be a “zero tolerance” policy toward unethical behavior and can be a preventive factor when they consider undertaking unethical behavior.

Ethics

This study was accepted and approved by the Universitas Islam Bandung Ethical Clearance Committee (no. 719/B.04/Bak-k/XII/2020). In addition, written, informed consent was obtained from participants. The variable utilized in this study is e-government which is divided into three sections (3) –the Government to the Citizen (G2C), the Government to the Business (G2B), and the Government to the Government (G2G). Meanwhile, the penta-helix was measured by elements such as government officials, academia, media, NGOs, the community, and businesspeople. The religiosity variable was measured based on ideology, practice, experience, knowledge, and consequences. Finally, corruption was measured using opportunity, pressure, and rationalization. The variables are operationalized in Table 1:

Sample selection

This study utilized a sample of 240 respondents from Malaysia and Indonesia between March to May 2021. These countries were selected because they share similar cultures and beliefs. In addition, the corruption level in both countries is alarming. The respondents represented those in the petha-helix model: government officials, academics, those working in the media, NGOs, the community, and business people, in Malaysia and Indonesia. Respondents included government auditors, university lecturers, by news employees, NGO employees in the social sector, community employees in the economic and social sector; and business people at the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) level. The sample was selected based on purposive sampling.⁷¹ The respondent selection criteria was based on their job description and experience or daily use of e-government services. Respondents who had never used e-government were not included in the sample criteria. The respondents were contacted by the research team, using established networks of friends, office colleagues, families, and alumnus to recruit participants. The researchers then approached the respondents through telephone calls, email, or WhatsApp messages. After explaining the aims of the study to the respondents and receiving their consent, a questionnaire on Google Forms was sent either through email or WhatsApp.

Data analysis techniques

This study used a quantitative approach for the data collection procedure. Before this questionnaire was distributed to respondents, it was tested on 30 respondents, using a cross sectional method through focus group discussions in February 2021. Based on this pilot project of 30 respondents, the results showed that the instrument the questionnaire was valid and reliable.

After receiving comments and refining the questions from the 30 respondents in the pilot study, the revised questionnaire was distributed to 240 new respondents via emails and WhatsApp message using the Google Form platform, between March to May 2021. The questionnaire was divided into five sections. Section A: respondent profile; Section B: The implementation of e-government in local authority; Section C: perspectives related to fraud triangle dimensions; Section D: beliefs and religiosity; and Section E: strategy to combat corruption.

The descriptive and inferential non-parametric statistics (part of inferential statistics) were used in analyzing the data. The SPSS v.25 was used to analyze the data for Malaysia and Indonesia datasets. Subsequently, this study conducted a reliability and validity analysis to assure the stability of the data. The estimated r-value was compared to the tabled r-value in determining the validity value. The validity test was deemed passed if the calculated r-value was larger than the tabled r-value. While the reliability test was conducted using Cronbach’s Alpha with criteria ranging from 0.80 to 0.88.

Demographic profile

Four demographic information were gathered from the 240 respondents from Malaysia and Indonesia— gender, education, computer abilities, and daily computer usage. First, there were more female than male participants from both countries in this study (Indonesia = 53%; Malaysia = 50%). Second, the average age is 36–45 years old (37% for Indonesia and 47% for Malaysia). Third, the respondents’ average educational level is an undergraduate degree (43% in Malaysia and 42.5% in Indonesia). In addition, this study shows no difference in terms of computer skills between Indonesia (79%) and Malaysia (80%). Finally, the average daily computer usage is six (6) hours per day (36% in Indonesia and 47.5% in Malaysia). Respondents’ complete information of demographic is displayed in Table 2:

Test of validity and reliability

The results from the test of validity and reliability show that all items have an r-count value larger than the interpolated r-table (n = 240, = 5% = 0.133). All items are declared valid and reliable based on the validity and reliability testing results. Furthermore, the variables analyzed have a positive and notable effect for Indonesia and Malaysia since the p-value is below 0.133, except for the religiosity variable, which is not too significant because larger p-value (0.162), as shown in Table 3.

Table 4 highlights that the effect of e-government on corruption in Indonesia is 0.132, whereas the effect of religiosity on corruption is negative (−0.276). Nevertheless, the presence of religiosity as a moderator can boost the effect of the e-government on the corruption by 0.321. However, the effect of the e-government on the corruption in Malaysia is relatively minimal at 0.066—religiosity is only 0.053, and religion as a moderator is 0.209. Therefore, the impact of religiosity toward e-government corruption is minimal. Therefore, in comparing the moderating effect of religiosity in both countries, it appears that religiosity significantly strengthens the influence of the e-government on the corruption in Indonesia more effectively than in Malaysia. The following graph depicts the number of e-governments on corruption in Indonesia and Malaysia and its moderating effect. Interestingly, these findings provide evidence that religiosity is influential in combating acts of corruption in government agencies. Thus, the regulatory bodies and the governments of both countries must be aware that religiosity may influence the behavior of the officials.

Figure 3. The Result of the Interaction Model Between Indonesia and Malaysia.

Underlying data

Figshare: Dataset of Questionnaire Result from the respondents of Penta-helix model of e-government in combating corruption, https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19643325.v1.⁷³

This project contains the following underlying data:

Extended data

Figshare: List of questions and descriptions of questionnaire of the Penta-helix model of e-government in combating corruption in emerging markets: Religiosity as a moderating, https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19643607.v1.⁷⁴

This project contains the following extended data:

Figshare: The Respondent characteristics of the penta-helix model of e-government in combating corruption in emerging markets: Religiosity as a moderating role, https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19643340.v1.⁷⁵

This project contains the following extended data:

Data are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC-BY 4.0).