Antigraft campaign sees little progress: ICW<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Seven, for some, is a lucky number.
\nSeven years since the reform movement kicked off a new era of
\ndemocracy, the nation has only seen a tiny spark of hope, but
\nmany problems remain, activists say.<\/p>\n
\"There has been some progress in law enforcement,\" Indonesia
\nCorruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Teten Masduki said during a
\ndiscussion on Thursday sponsored by The Indonesian Institute,
\nreferring to current actions being taken by the Corruption
\nEradication Commission (KPK).<\/p>\n
\"The KPK has a mandate to use unprecedented methods, like
\nentrapment, to catch corruptors,\" he said, adding that such
\nactions also helped to discourage others from committing similar
\ncrimes, or at least made them more careful.<\/p>\n
However, a lot of work remains.<\/p>\n
KPK head Taufiequrrahman Ruki admitted that the combination of
\na corruption-prone system combined with a people lacking
\nintegrity in addition to an inconsistent law enforcement system
\nmade the problems worse.<\/p>\n
He added that the law enforcement authorities were still
\ntrying to figure out how to define corruption.<\/p>\n
\"Several judges in the ad hoc commission continue to debate
\nwhether the KPK can even investigate corruption cases that took
\nplace before the commission was established (in 2002),\" he said,
\nciting one example.<\/p>\n
Ruki also mentioned that law enforcers were not supported by
\nsufficient funding, and that was evidence that the government was
\nlacking the will to fight corruption. \"For example, the ad-hoc
\njudges have not received their salary for seven months,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Not to mention the massive public permissiveness towards
\ncorruption... the problem is just taken for granted,\" he said,
\nadding that public support was a very important aspect in the
\nantigraft campaign.<\/p>\n
He said the KPK had received more than 4,000 reported cases of
\ncorruption in the last 18 months, of which only three cases had
\ngone to court.<\/p>\n
The commission is currently focusing its investigations on 10
\ncases, including the bribery and corruption case involving the
\nGeneral Elections Commission (KPU).<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, political observer Eep Saefulloh Fatah of The
\nIndonesian Institute said the KPK's decision to deal with the
\ncorruption cases against the national election body should be
\nused as momentum to raise public awareness and spark new hope.<\/p>\n
\"KPK, as one of the major agents of change, must have a clear
\nstrategy,\" he said. \"What it has done should only be seen as an
\ninitial step that other agencies and groups should follow up on.\"<\/p>\n
Eep explained that a comprehensive strategy needs to involve
\n'clean' subjects of change, a stricter set of rules, strong
\nauthorities, public support and effective mechanisms to produce
\nsynergy.<\/p>\n
\"First of all, our law does not impose severe sanctions on
\ncorrupt officials of businesspeople,\" he said. \"Secondly,
\ncorruption eradication actions have been lacking in the area of
\nproper campaigns and communication with the public, resulting in
\ncontinued ignorance in society.\"<\/p>\n
Public support, aside from bureaucratic problems in dealing
\nwith corruption, was emphasized as an important aspect.<\/p>\n
\"Some experts have said that our society's mindset is already
\ncorrupt,\" he said, while adding that it would be very difficult
\nto change such a mindset.<\/p>\n
Eep, Teten and Ruki concurred, that building public awareness
\nto shun corruption practices was one of the most important
\nissues.<\/p>\n
Such a movement, they said, should start from the simplest
\nthing like teaching children at home the values of living
\nhonestly.<\/p>\n
\"In Australia, instead of teaching anticorruption values,
\npeople teach their children fairness,\" Teten said. \"Practical
\nimplications of such a method have been proven to be more
\neffective than rote memorization of what one should and should
\nnot do.\"<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the baseline for building an anticorruption
\nattitude must be put upon social awareness, instead of only the
\nabstract fear of committing a sinful act, he added.(003)<\/p>",
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