Anti-corruption record poor as ever<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In 2004, almost six years after the dawn of the reform movement,
\nIndonesia's record on corruption remained shabby as ever.<\/p>\n
In circumstances that would have raised eyebrows almost
\nanywhere else, a main suspect in a multimillion dollar fraud case
\nat state Bank BNI, Adrian Herling Wawowuruntu, somehow walked out
\nof the police station where he was being held. Rumor has it that
\nAdrian slept in one of the police investigation rooms for one day
\nbefore fleeing overseas.<\/p>\n
Adrian's case is a pretty good example of the level of
\ncommitment of law enforcement agencies to the fight against
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
In May, all 30 members of the Cirebon municipal legislative
\ncouncil were named suspects for allegedly misusing hundreds of
\nmillions of rupiah from the 2001 city budget.<\/p>\n
Two months later, a court in Padang, West Sumatra, sentenced
\nthe West Sumatra Legislative Council speaker, his two deputies
\nand 40 other councillors to up to two years and three months in
\nprison for embezzling Rp 6.4 billion from the province's 2002
\nbudget.<\/p>\n
A report published by Indonesian Corruption Watch offered an
\ninsight into the state of corruption at the local level. It said
\nthat between January and August alone, 314 cases of corruption
\nwere found in various tiers of government, mostly in regency and
\nmunicipal administrations.<\/p>\n
This appeared to confirm post-reform indications that
\ncorruption had spread from the central government to regional
\ngovernments in the wake of regional autonomy.<\/p>\n
A report from the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI)
\nconfirmed that Indonesia was having little success against
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
In its latest report released late in October, the TI said
\nthat out of 146 countries surveyed Indonesia was the fifth most
\ncorrupt nation after Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
\nIvory Coast and Georgia. The country was tied with Tajikistan and
\nTurkmenistan on the list.<\/p>\n
The country's poor anti-graft record came amid strident calls
\nfrom candidates contesting the legislative and presidential
\nelections to step up the anti-corruption measures.<\/p>\n
Corruption eradication has become a catchphrase to attract the
\nwidest possible range of support from the electorate. However,
\nthe phrase rings hollow given that the country has made no
\nprogress in the fight against corruption.<\/p>\n
This failure has irked experts and anti-graft activists, some
\nof whom have proposed their own measures for combating
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
Legal expert Frans Hendra Winarta suggested that the
\ngovernment could make a breakthrough by shifting the burden of
\nproof to the accused, as stipulated in the anti-graft law.<\/p>\n
Others have called for suspected corruptors who have fled the
\ncountry to be tried in absentia.<\/p>\n
Two new Cabinet ministers also have hit upon a new method to
\ndeter officials from perpetrating corruption.<\/p>\n
Days after being sworn in, State Minister for Administrative
\nReform Taufik Effendi demanded that all civil servants sign a
\ncontract vowing not to become involved in corruption on penalty
\nof serious punishment.<\/p>\n
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin has sent
\na number of convicted corruptors to the notorious Nusakambangan
\nprison island in the hope that this will prove to be a deterrent
\nfor would-be corrupters.<\/p>\n
A new agency set up to deal with major corruption cases, the
\nCorruption Eradication Commission (KPK), proposed an amendment to
\nanti-graft Law No. 20\/2002, saying the law did not give the
\ncommission the power to embark on a full-fledged anti-corruption
\ndrive.<\/p>\n
\"We want access to suspected corruptors bank accounts,\" KPK
\nchairman Taufiqurrachman Ruki said.<\/p>\n
However, all of these proposals and actions will make little
\ndifference if the country's leaders do not throw their political
\nweight behind the anti-graft drive.<\/p>\n
\"If the President actively encourages the eradication of
\ncorruption, hopefully the drive to eradicate corruption in
\nIndonesia will be more intensive than before. In a patriarchal
\nsociety, the leaders must provide a good example,\" anti-graft
\nactivist Saldi Isra said.<\/p>\n
In a speech delivered hours after his inauguration, President
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he would personally lead the fight
\nagainst corruption.<\/p>\n
It just remains to be seen whether his words will translate
\ninto action. The public is waiting.<\/p>",
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