Finance ministry signs MOU on corruption eradication<\/p>\n
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite his \"I don't care\" response to a recent survey that found
\ntwo institutions under his supervision to be among the most
\ncorrupt a day earlier, Minister of Finance Yusuf Anwar on Friday
\nsigned a Memorandum of Understanding with the Corruption
\nEradication Commission (KPK).<\/p>\n
KPK chairman Taufiqurrahman Ruki said the MoU was very
\nimportant since the KPK had indicated potential loopholes for
\ncorruption in the state budgetary accounting system handled by
\nthe finance ministry.<\/p>\n
\"We have discussed this matter for the past three months and
\nagreed upon the need for a full review of the system,\" he said.<\/p>\n
With the review, Ruki said he hoped corruption, such as
\nbribery and markups within the state budgetary system, could be
\naddressed, along with the potential for graft within the
\nministry's own administration system.<\/p>\n
Yusuf explained that revamping his ministry's administration
\nsystem was among the many efforts to minimize the opportunities
\nfor corruption to take place.<\/p>\n
\"That is the main reason for reviewing the taxation and
\ncustoms laws,\" he said. \"It is also to prevent opportunities for
\nbackroom deals.\"<\/p>\n
Ruki added that he expected the anticorruption drive to be
\nfully implemented by all ministry officials following the MoU.<\/p>\n
\"I expect the ministry's top officials to enforce monitoring
\nagainst corruption within their offices from now on,\" he said in
\na stern manner.<\/p>\n
With the MoU, the KPK will have the authority to share
\ninformation and conduct joint investigations with the ministry's
\ninspectorate general.<\/p>\n
Previously, the KPK had asked Yusuf to sign \"a contract\" with
\nthe Director General of Taxation Hadi Purnomo and Director
\nGeneral of Customs and Excise Eddy Abdurrachman to keep them
\naccountable for the potential graft in their offices.<\/p>\n
The finance ministry established a new investigation bureau
\nspecifically for corruption within its inspectorate general late
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
The tax and customs offices have been under fire of late
\nfollowing numerous studies highlighting the gross level of
\ncorruption within each, including this week's survey by
\nTransparency International Indonesia (TII).<\/p>\n
The 2004 Indonesian Corruption Perception Index survey, with
\n1,305 business owners and top managers of local and multinational
\nfirms as respondents, revealed that the customs service had the
\nhighest incidence of corrupt interactions at 62 percent.<\/p>\n
Some 140 respondents said they had to pay bribes to the
\ncustoms service approximately 31 times per year, with each bribe
\naveraging Rp 38 million (US4,086).<\/p>\n
The tax office, which is also supervised by the finance
\nministry, was ranked as the 11th most corrupt institution on the
\nlist.<\/p>\n
However, Yusuf was not exactly overjoyed by the survey. \"It
\n(the corruption within my ministry) is an old story. I know about
\nit, you know about it and everybody knows about it,\" he said.
\n\"That's why we shouldn't make a fuss about it. What's more
\nimportant is that we keep on working to improve things.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/finance-ministry-signs-mou-on-corruption-eradication-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}