Axing graft takes more than words<\/p>\n
Benny Susetyo, Cultural Observer, Malang, East Java<\/p>\n
President Megawati's recent statement during the inauguration
\nof Naval barracks in Driyoreji, Gresik, East Java, is interesting
\nto note.<\/p>\n
She said that in the past, generals of the Indonesian armed
\nforces were involved in graft and neglected their soldiers. They
\nlooked great in their uniforms emblazoned with stars while the
\ntroops lived in dire poverty.<\/p>\n
"It seems they enjoy the fruits of corruption while their
\nsubordinates live in financial straits or keleleran, as the
\nJavanese put it," she said.<\/p>\n
The president also showed great concern about the lack of
\ndiscipline among members of the Indonesian armed forces.<\/p>\n
Her statement, as strong as it sounds, is merely a soft breeze
\namid the raging winds of corruption.<\/p>\n
We may no longer have any sense of shame as a nation -- we are
\nno longer embarrassed to be dubbed "the world's most corrupt
\nnation".<\/p>\n
In 1998, the reformists brought down the New Order regime
\nbecause of its unchecked corruption. Unfortunately, the system of
\ngovernment today remains just as corrupt as before.<\/p>\n
In 2002, Transparency International (TI), an organization
\nheadquartered in Berlin, Germany, ranked Indonesia as the world's
\nfourth most corrupt country. In 2003, of the 133 countries that
\nthe TI evaluated, Indonesia was ranked sixth, only two notches
\nabove its 2002 rank. An earlier survey conducted by the Political
\nand Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd. (PERC) on 1,000 foreign
\ncompanies operating in 12 Asian states showed that Indonesia
\nscored 9.92. All in all, Indonesia may virtually be considered
\nAsia's most corrupt country, a condition that defines the mental
\nplight of the nation.<\/p>\n
According to a TI survey, the level of corruption in Indonesia
\nis worse than in Papua New Guinea (2.1), Vietnam (2.4), the
\nPhilippines (2.5) or Malaysia (5.2). In the same survey, Finland,
\nscoring 9.7, is ranked the world's most corruption-free country
\nwhile Singapore, with the same score, is ranked fifth.<\/p>\n
Given these results, it seems that Indonesia's scientists,
\nacademics, intellectuals, politicians and the general public view
\ncorruption as just an ordinary practice or social trend.<\/p>\n
Unwittingly, we have often said corruption is part of our
\nnational culture, and have even coined the phrase, "the culture
\nof corruption".<\/p>\n
Schoolchildren are taught to preserve the national culture,
\nthe culture that evolves from our values and tradition. If
\ncorruption is considered part of our culture, is it also taught
\nat schools as something to be preserved?<\/p>\n
Widespread corruption also seems to be part of the public
\npsyche. Corruption is practiced at all levels of society. In the
\nlower strata, corruption may have been inspired by those found in
\nthe uppermost strata.<\/p>\n
The present system of government is as yet incapable of
\ncreating a corruption-free society because the government is
\ninherently corrupt. From the New Order era to the present,
\ncorruption is deeply rooted in the government.<\/p>\n
It also seems the anticorruption movement has yet to turn into
\na coordinated movement, that corruption is yet to be considered a
\ncommon enemy that must be routed once and for all. Attempts have
\nbeen made to eradicate corruption, but unfortunately these
\nattempts have been half-hearted at best.<\/p>\n
At the government level, a systematic effort to eradicate
\ngraft has not been made, so corrupt activities continue, while
\nthe anticorruption movement has yet to be carried out
\ncomprehensively so that corruption will be wiped out.<\/p>\n
Ironically, probes into corruption cases sometimes depend more
\non political motives than an ethical resolve to eradicate graft.
\nMegawati once said she did not want to see the corruption issue
\npoliticized, fearing that she would be accused of violating human
\nrights if extreme measures were taken to eliminate corruption,
\ncollusion and nepotism.<\/p>\n
We agree with her. But of course, we reject the notion that
\neradicating corruption is tantamount to human rights violation.<\/p>\n
Isn't corruption the most concrete form of human rights
\nviolation? Our problem as a nation is how to stop corruption and
\nwipe it out, roots and all. We may have only a morsel of shame
\nleft, but do we not still hope that we won't be dubbed the
\nworld's most corrupt nation?<\/p>\n
The nation requires a firm leader that can take extreme
\nmeasures against terrorists and dissidents against the state, but
\nalso against corruptors. The best way for a leader to do this is
\nnot by telling people to avoid getting involved in corruption,
\nbut by holding himself\/herself up as a model example, being clean
\nand taking stern action against corruptors.<\/p>\n
The crux of the matter is not how to prevent a political power
\nfrom being corrupt, but how to stop corruption. Only when this is
\nachieved can society follow suit and a cleaner system be
\nestablished.<\/p>\n
In the present modern era, corruption is hard to eradicate in
\ndeveloping countries because it is widely practiced as a means to
\nachieve a particular goal. Corruption is practiced in a highly
\ncomplicated social system and is not found on a modest scale,
\nalthough the public view is usually simplified.<\/p>\n
Corruption does not stand alone. It exists because of a lack
\nof transparency in the bureaucracy. A closed government does not
\ngive the freedom to access credible and adequate information. As
\nlong as the policy of power fails to facilitate access to
\ninformation -- for example, regarding budgetary expenditures and
\ntargets -- eradicating corruption will simply remain a discourse
\nwithout follow-up, or in other words, mere illusion.<\/p>\n
What is of pressing need now is precise and determined action.
\nIt is also necessary at this juncture to disseminate to the
\npublic that apart from terrorism, corruption is the greatest
\ncrime against humanity. In this way, there will no longer be any
\nreason to say that the eradication of corruption violates human
\nrights. Through fair legal recourse and firm political vision
\nwith high moral standards, eradicating corruption must be set as
\nthe main priority in bringing about a clean government.<\/p>\n
Anyone engaged in corruption thus violates human dignity and
\nmust be severely punished -- because he violates the dignity of
\nlife.<\/p>\n
When a public fund, however little, is manipulated in pursuit
\nof personal interests, it must be investigated thoroughly via a
\nfair mechanism of the law.<\/p>\n
Corruption should not be considered part of our culture, even
\nif it is unavoidable that corruption is deeply rooted in this
\ncountry, as corruption is an affront against human dignity.<\/p>",
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