<![CDATA[This research investigates how political interference has shaped the direction of correctional policy in Indonesia, placing particular emphasis on the ways in which legislative and executive branch decisions dictate the operationalization of rehabilitation programs inside penitentiary facilities. Background: Despite the considerable changes brought about by the enactment of Law Number 22 of 2022 on Corrections, Indonesia's prison system continues to be constrained by entrenched political pressures that obstruct the genuine provision of rehabilitative justice. Purpose of the Study: The study sets out to measure how deeply political forces—including legislative lobbying efforts, the allocation of public budgets, and the scope of executive discretionary power—penetrate the processes of correctional policymaking and determine their eventual results. Methods: The research employs a normative juridical framework as its primary approach, bolstered by empirical data gathered from correctional policy documents, transcripts of parliamentary proceedings, and firsthand interviews with correctional personnel covering the years 2019 through 2023. Results: The evidence gathered demonstrates that political considerations routinely supersede reform efforts grounded in empirical data, producing chronically overcrowded detention facilities, poorly resourced rehabilitation schemes, and uneven application of policies from one region to another. Conclusions: For correctional reform in Indonesia to take meaningful effect, it is necessary to insulate prison governance from political influence, create genuinely autonomous oversight bodies, and bring the letter and spirit of legislation into closer correspondence with actual institutional behavior.]]>
