Indonesian corruption in perspective<\/p>\n
W. Scott Thompson, Gianyar, Bali<\/p>\n
It is not realistic to put Nigeria and Indonesia in the same
\nleague on corruption, as an international NGO has done. There has
\nbeen much publicity about this country's placement near the
\nbottom of the corruption barrel. There is no question that it is
\na big problem: I should know, as the victim here of a huge
\npersonal scam.<\/p>\n
But Indonesia is not Nigeria. Here, there has been
\nsubstantial economic growth and national and noble attempts to
\ncome to terms with corruption. Nigeria went from being a food
\nexporter to an almost total importer, thanks to indolent and
\ncorrupt elite attitudes: Virtually the entire oil wealth of the
\n1970s was skimmed off for houses in London and similar
\nextravagances.<\/p>\n
At one recent point a national leader closed down the oil
\nrefineries there so that the oil had to go in and out, and thus
\ngive him a double cut. Millions lost their jobs; the national
\nincome plummeted faster than any known country's in history-- but
\nGen. Abacha got billions. Only his viagra overdose saved the
\ncountry from a much worse fate.<\/p>\n
One need not praise the Soeharto family for probity, but in
\nthe better years -- let us say until the death of Mme Tien -- the
\nper capita income grew by at least ten times. The corruption
\nhappened after the economic growth. The useful comparison is
\nwith, for example, the Philippines, where Marcos jiggled the
\nsystem for the family and the cronies,they taking their cuts
\nprior to any growth, so the whole system collapsed. Here the
\nfamily -- at least until the early 1990s-generated huge growth
\nand then took their cut.<\/p>\n
The last time I visited Nigeria it was suggested that my visa
\nwasn't valid (which was not true) but US$100 would help. The
\nimmigration officials were laughing as they figured what I was
\nworth. I only once had to pay that much in Indonesia, and the
\ncustoms inspector, while pocketing the money, told me that it
\nwasn't for him, \"it was for the people of Indonesia.\" At least he
\nfelt guilty, which didn't even occur to the Nigerian.<\/p>\n
It is also true that the current ratings do not take into
\naccount recent progress. The ratings show a substantial lag
\neffect. The last time I left Indonesia I had unintendedly
\noverstayed a day. I was wondering how much I would have to pay.
\nThe truly sensational thing is not that the official told me I
\nhad only to pay $20 -- but that he then wrote me a receipt on RI
\npaper and put the money in a customs box! That's worth
\ncelebrating.<\/p>\n
But there is more than anecdotal evidence that people are
\ngetting the message -- that corruption keeps a country poor.
\nCorruption is like population growth -- at some stage one
\noutgrows it. As recently as 90 years ago the British government
\nwas selling peerages for contributions to the governing party;
\nnot much earlier it was selling military commissions.<\/p>\n
In America as recently as 1980 a New Orleans official said to
\nme that his state could not contribute to Governor Reagan's
\npresidential election campaign, because they had just spent $50
\nmillion on their gubernatorial campaign. I expressed
\nastonishment, to which he replied, \"there's one big lot of roads
\nto be build in Louisiana.\"<\/p>\n
In smart states, corruption declines like population growth as
\nthe economy expands. It becomes inefficient, counter-productive.
\nThe Indonesian press has well publicized the negative effect is
\nhas on foreign investment and scholars have attached numbers as
\nhigh as 3 percent to its harm.<\/p>\n
But attitudes have to change along with the economic
\nperspective. Areas have to become off limits for corruption. For
\nexample, while everyone tries to cut sharp deals in business all
\nover the world, in the countries in the clean league, it is
\nsimply unthinkable to steal from your friends. That encircles a
\nhuge area of personal probity and shifts attitudes at the
\ncorporate level too.<\/p>\n
The single most painful monetary memory of my life is that a
\n\"friend\" here offered to transmit some American funds for
\nbuilding my house in Bali, and kept eighty million rupiah for
\nhimself, 15 percent. That's simply a no-no in countries that want
\nto clean their act up. Honesty starts at home.<\/p>\n
If Indonesia wants to worry about indices generated in the
\nWest, it should pay more attention to the \"failed state\" index of
\nthe magazine \"Foreign Policy,\" which places this country, along
\nwith neighboring Philippines, in the \"marginal\" category. (Ivory
\nCoast, with 106 negative points, is the worst; Indonesia gets 87,
\nthe Philippines 84).<\/p>\n
Again, the time lag has harmed Indonesia: One of the twelve
\ncategories for that rating was \"refugees and displaced persons.\"
\nAnother was \"factionalized elites.\" But the Aceh settlement and
\nmore settled political situation since Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's
\nelection would, I think in themselves, raise Indonesia out of the
\n\"marginal\" category, from its 87 to less than the cut-off point
\nof 82 points.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, in the other ten categories, there are things to
\nthink about (uneven development, demographic pressures, human
\nrights). It seems to me that Indonesia is on a sharp upward
\ncurve: It's taken some courageous acts in its elections, in its
\ndecentralization, and in its decisions to deal with the deficit
\nby no longer giving gasoline away to the rich and middle class. I
\nwould say, looking at these comparisons with other countries,
\nIndonesia is doing rather well. It deserves higher ratings, and I
\nbelieve an inspection of the criteria for the ratings would show
\nthat the numbers have been overtaken by events. But that is no
\nargument for complacency.<\/p>\n
The writer is adjunct professor of international politics at
\nthe Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He resides part time in
\nBali.<\/p>",
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