(Other) People's money<\/p>\n
The scandal over the allegation that PT Jamsostek paid money
\nto House of Representatives' members who deliberated the manpower
\nbill this year has opened a whole Pandora's box. Many House
\nmembers now openly admit that such contributions from sponsors
\nare normal, and at times even expected. Those who are doubting
\nthe validity of the Manpower Law because of the alleged Jamsostek
\npayment are effectively questioning the validity of most, if not
\nall, the laws that have been passed by the House dating back to
\nthe time taking money from sponsors became acceptable.<\/p>\n
The question then becomes why stop at the Manpower Law? Going
\nby the admission of past and present House members, most other
\nbills that came their way were similarly funded. The only
\ndifference is that Jamsostek's alleged financial contribution has
\nbecome public knowledge because someone in the state-owned social
\nsecurity company decided to leak the documents to the media.<\/p>\n
The one thing that makes Jamsostek stand out, if the
\nallegation is true, is that it used money entrusted by millions
\nof workers who subscribe to its social security program. But it
\nwould not surprise us at all if other government agencies or
\nstate companies have also made similar payments in the
\ndeliberations of other legislations, which effectively means
\nusing the people's money.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia's context, it is very easy to see how the
\nhonorary members managed to absolve their guilt of accepting
\nmoney from sponsors, in spite of their oath against taking money
\nor gifts from anyone in the course of their work. The practice,
\nafter all, is common in our society, as if everybody, or the
\nmajority at least, is doing it. What the House members call uang
\nlelah (sweat money), is known elsewhere as uang rokok (cigarette
\nmoney), uang jalan (transport money), amplop (envelope), uang
\npelicin (grease money), hadiah (gift), and many other names.<\/p>\n
They are ready to call it anything but bribe money. But we all
\nknow that nobody gives anything away for free. Those who give
\nmoney always expect something in return. The officer at the
\ndistrict office therefore dutifully speeds up the ID application
\nprocess; the journalist will write positive coverage; and the
\nHouse members will pass the bill. These are examples of what is
\nregarded as a normal practice in our country. It is not difficult
\nto see why Indonesia has been tagged as a very corrupt country.<\/p>\n
Of course, no one will admit that they have sold their soul
\ndown the drain. The ID card would have been issued, the news
\nstory would have been printed, and the bill would have been
\ndeliberated and passed whether money had been paid or not.<\/p>\n
We have no doubt that some of these claims are true, but they
\nnevertheless undermine professional integrity, whether from civil
\nservants, journalists or legislators. And integrity is a very
\nimportant -- if not the most important -- quality for a House
\nmember who is privileged to represent the people. The moment they
\naccept money, no matter how little, they are compromising their
\nintegrity, never mind violating their oath of office.<\/p>\n
It is pointless to dispute the validity of the hundreds of
\nlegislations that the House has helped to enact. To insist on
\nthis would destroy the very fabric of our society which is
\nfounded upon these laws. We should give the benefit of the doubt
\nthat those legislations, including the new Manpower Law, were
\npassed by the House members with the best of intentions in mind.<\/p>\n
The practice of financially sponsoring legislative bills
\nhowever must be stopped at once. If we accept that the Jamsostek
\nscandal is not an isolated incident, then we need to review the
\nway that bill deliberations at the House are financed. The House
\nhas already earmarked a huge budget for that purpose. If that is
\nstill insufficient, then it simply has to allocate more funds.<\/p>\n
The House must never accept, let alone solicit, sponsorships.
\nGiven that all the bills that reached the House these last 30
\nyears had been sent and drafted by the government, accepting
\nmoney from the government or any of its agencies must be barred.<\/p>\n
The honorary members have already had their salaries hiked in
\nrecent years precisely to prevent the kind of pay offs we are
\ntalking about. Like other members of society, they should live
\nwithin their means. They cannot live off taxpayers' or people's
\nmoney, or in Jamsostek's case, live off other people's money.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/other-peoples-money-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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