{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1225675,
        "msgid": "former-finance-minister-marie-muhammad-used-to-compare-1447899208",
        "date": "2002-09-12 00:00:00",
        "title": "Former finance minister Mari'e Muhammad used to compare ",
        "author": null,
        "source": "",
        "tags": null,
        "topic": null,
        "summary": "Former finance minister Mari'e Muhammad used to compare customs and excise officers to mechanics in a workshop. Mechanics will somehow get dirty because of the lubricating oil. It is all right as long as they do not get soaked in this oil, he said. How is the integrity of customs and excise officers today? Well, more than Muhammad expected before, they are now swimming in lubricating oil. Presidential Instruction No. 5\/1984 clipped much of this agency's authority.",
        "content": "<p>Former finance minister Mari'e Muhammad used to compare <br>\ncustoms and excise officers to mechanics in a workshop. Mechanics <br>\nwill somehow get dirty because of the lubricating oil. It is all <br>\nright as long as they do not get soaked in this oil, he said.<\/p>\n<p>How is the integrity of customs and excise officers today? <br>\nWell, more than Muhammad expected before, they are now swimming <br>\nin lubricating oil.<\/p>\n<p>Presidential Instruction No. 5\/1984 clipped much of this <br>\nagency's authority. This instruction also introduced pre-shipment <br>\ninspection (PSI) to solve customs problems and at that time PSI <br>\nwas warmly welcomed as the most important self-correction in the <br>\ngovernmental sector.<\/p>\n<p>Today the industry and trade ministry and the IMF, among <br>\nothers, have suggested voluntary PSI but the business world has <br>\ngiven a mixed reaction. Despite illegal fees, import activities <br>\nrun smoothly.<\/p>\n<p>What about smuggling? PSI, which needs the services of <br>\nindependent surveyors, is believed to minimize smuggling. If it <br>\nis applied selectively and voluntarily, however, it may not do <br>\nanything against smuggling. A smuggler will never voluntarily <br>\ntake his goods to a surveyor to be inspected.<\/p>\n<p>If PSI is applied only for certain commodities, smugglers can <br>\nuse the names of other commodities when completing import <br>\ndeclarations. So, PSI can only be effective to prevent smuggling <br>\nif it is mandatory for all commodities.<\/p>\n<p>The hurdles are the law and the fees. The present law on <br>\ncustoms affairs must first be amended to make PSI mandatory. As <br>\nthe surveyors will ask for a contract with the government, there <br>\nmust be a tax mechanism allowing the government to collect the <br>\nfees from businessmen. These problems must first be addressed <br>\nbefore PSI is reinstated.<\/p>\n<p>-- Business Indonesia, Jakarta<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/former-finance-minister-marie-muhammad-used-to-compare-1447899208",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}