God's role in our anti-corruption war<\/p>\n
Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post<\/p>\n
Each of three of our director generals has his own way of
\nresponding to criticism on corruption and poor-governance
\npractices in their offices.<\/p>\n
From putting the case into God's hands, to asking the public
\nto refrain from bribery, to threatening to sue accusers who are
\nunable to come up with proof.<\/p>\n
Which course is the most threatening? Which one could actually
\nwork?<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Trade's director general of domestic trade
\nArdiansyah Parman's method of defending his ministry against
\ncritics sparked laughter from retail businesspeople last Monday.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, his reply was a fundamental one, particularly
\nfor the devout.<\/p>\n
When the trade official mentioned God, the businesspeople who
\nwere attending a seminar sniggered among themselves. Is there
\nsomething wrong with being religious?<\/p>\n
When responding to criticism against his ministry's poor
\nperformance in protecting small-scale retailers against giant
\nretailers, such as Carrefour, Ardiansyah insisted that the
\ngovernment had done everything in its power to ensure fair
\nbusiness practices, including the provision of laws and
\ngovernment regulations.
\n A participant alleged that Minister of Trade Mari Pangestu had
\nno interest in helping small-scale retailers.<\/p>\n
The senior official told his critics they had no business
\nevaluating the results of his ministry's hard work, arguing that,
\n"Judging the results is the territory of God".<\/p>\n
As having a religion is required in Indonesia -- though
\nunfortunately the Ministry of Religious Affairs is one of the
\nmost corrupt ministries here -- all Indonesians are expected to
\nfollow Ardiansyah's advice.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Director General of Customs and Excise Eddy
\nAbdurrahman offers a much more effective -- according to him --
\nway of combating corruption: Stop bribing his officials.<\/p>\n
In responding to the findings of the World Bank and the
\nUniversity of Indonesia's Institute for Economic and Social
\nResearch -- that last year alone importers had to pay about Rp 7
\ntrillion (US$800 million) in illegal fees to Eddy's officials --
\nhe simply asked importers, "to refuse (to give money) if asked by
\ncustoms and excise officials".<\/p>\n
According to Chatib Basri from the University of Indonesia,
\nthe survey was based on fact and not perception.<\/p>\n
"Report to me directly, where, when it (extortion) happened
\nand what is the case," Eddy boasted.<\/p>\n
If you have trouble putting your faith in Eddy, dial his
\nnumber; though naturally it would be nothing short of a miracle
\nif he personally picked up the phone.<\/p>\n
Expressing doubts over the accuracy of the survey results,
\nwhich were announced on Friday, Eddy warned that the director
\ngeneral of tax had once come up against a similar case. Eddy is
\nclearly more merciful to critics than his colleague at the tax
\noffice.<\/p>\n
In April, outspoken economist, former coordinating minister
\nfor the economy, and former state minister of national
\ndevelopment planning Kwik Kian Gie was forced to put an open
\napology in Kompas daily to the director general of tax for
\nfailing to prove his allegation that corruption was rampant in
\nthe tax office. Kwik's allegation had been printed by Kompas.<\/p>\n
"Therefore, through this advertisement, I, Kwik Kian Gie,
\nconvey my apologies to the directorate general of tax. It is an
\nerror that will not be repeated," Kwik wrote.<\/p>\n
It is regrettable that Kwik did not cite former People's
\nConsultative Assembly speaker Amien Rais' description of
\ncorruption in the advertisement. "Corruption is like a fart, you
\ncan smell it, but cannot see it."<\/p>\n
Millions of people would stand up and applaud if the tax
\ndirector general, Hadi Purnomo, proved Kwik to be wrong by
\npresenting evidence that his office is corruption-free and that
\nall office employees depend on their salaries as civil servants
\nalone. And that none of those employees have cars, savings or
\nhouses, the value of which is much higher than their official
\nincome.<\/p>\n
Among the three, who takes a more humane approach in
\nresponding to criticism: Ardiansyah, Eddy or Hadi?<\/p>\n
Ardiansyah's way seems simple, but how should we access God's
\njudgment, through the Ministry of Religious Affairs? Wouldn't the
\nministry officials tamper with God's message? At any rate, at
\nleast Ardiansyah's way is a peaceful one. Eddy's appeal not to
\nbribe his officials is certainly amusing, and helps us to make
\npeace with the extorters. For your own peace of mind, better to
\ntake his advice with a grain of salt.<\/p>\n
And how about Hadi's way of dealing with Kwik? Kwik knows the
\nbest answer to this question.<\/p>",
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