Our wealthy candidates<\/p>\n
As required by law, the 10 candidates opened their purses and
\npublicly reported their wealth last week to the Corruption
\nEradication Commission (KPK).<\/p>\n
Lest we forget, unveiling one's personal wealth is alien to
\nIndonesia. Secrecy is part and parcel of the mainstream culture,
\nespecially among the ruling elite. The rule of thumb is, the
\nhigher a person's status in this inherently feudal society, the
\ngreater their privileges -- and these privileges run the gamut,
\nfrom communal respect to liberty to commit a crime with impunity.<\/p>\n
Ever since Soeharto's downfall in 1998, the people have sought
\nto change this culture, albeit with little success, and the
\nwealth report is but one example.<\/p>\n
A hats-off is therefore due to the candidates for their
\nwillingness to take the risk to lead by example in a supposedly
\ntransparent society -- no matter the possible flaws in their
\nreports or in the filing process. Besides, flaws are to be
\nexpected in this year's unprecedented electoral system.<\/p>\n
Interestingly enough, however, their revelation did not meet
\nwith wide response from the public, save a few activists. How
\nshould we interpret this reaction? Hopefully, it was only because
\nthe people are not used to scrutinizing their prospective leaders
\nand not because the people on the streets simply dismissed it as
\nanother commonplace lie.<\/p>\n
We must pay attention to these flaws in view of the future and
\nraise some questions in the hope that the next elections will
\nregister improvement.<\/p>\n
First of all, could a poor person join a presidential race?
\nThe whopping figures of the candidates' personal wealth -- from
\nhundreds of millions to hundreds of billions of rupiah -- is jaw-
\ndropping. As a laborer commented in dismay, all the candidates
\nturned out to be enormously affluent.<\/p>\n
The question sounds out of place, perhaps, until one recalls
\nthe not-so-well-kept public secret: Running for office takes
\nmoney in this country, and this goes for any office -- from the
\nvillage level to the presidential seat. The only difference is
\nthe sum involved: billions or trillions of rupiah for the
\npresidency, millions or tens of million for village heads.<\/p>\n
Whatever the case, the revelation of their wealth alone is a
\nrude awakening as to just how much the gaping chasm between the
\nrich and the poor has been overlooked. The candidates are talking
\nin terms of billions, whereas the people earn a minimum wage of
\nless than Rp 700,000 a month in Jakarta, one of the very few
\nprovinces with a high standard of living.<\/p>\n
This question prompts others in succession: How much are the
\nsalaries of a president and a vice president? The wealths of
\nincumbents President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President
\nHamzah Haz differ greatly at Rp 60 billion and Rp 19 billion,
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n
How much is the salary of a minister? Susilo (Rp 3 billion) is
\na former security minister and Jusuf Kalla (Rp 122 billion) a
\nformer coordinating minister of people's welfare, but the latter
\ncannot be measured with the same yardstick, as he was initially a
\nbusinessman. The same goes for Siswono Yudohusodo (Rp 75.5
\nbillion), a former minister under Soeharto who was a successful
\nproperty businessman. Meanwhile, former House Speaker Amien Rais
\nis worth Rp 991 million.<\/p>\n
Finally, how much does a general earn in a year? There are
\nthree retired generals in the presidential race -- Wiranto,
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Agum Gumelar -- who have vastly
\ndisparate levels of wealth at Rp 46 billion, Rp 4.65 billion and
\nRp 12 billion, respectively.<\/p>\n
To put these figures in context, the current basic salary for
\na president is Rp 27 million, a vice president's, Rp 22 million,
\nand a minister's, Rp 20 million. A general's salary, on the other
\nhand, is less than Rp 2 million.<\/p>\n
By applying some simple arithmetic, it is obvious that none of
\nthe candidates could have amassed such wealth from their salaries
\nalone.<\/p>\n
The question is, how did they? The answer is crucial for the
\npeople to judge the candidates fairly. In a free society, it is
\nno sin to be wealthy as long as the means of its accumulation was
\nlegal. If the candidates did gain their wealth through
\nunscrupulous ways -- and if this information is left in the dark
\n-- how can the public trust them?<\/p>\n
The KPK has said it would audit the candidates' wealth this
\nmonth. The question is, can it be done in such a short time --
\neven if the candidates cooperate duly?<\/p>\n
Second, six of the candidates, including Megawati, Hamzah,
\nSusilo, Amien, Siswono and Agum, submitted only their 2001
\nwealth. The remaining four submitted their current wealth
\nfigures, and thus seem to have more goodwill in this respect. The
\nKPK's argument that not all candidates could submit an up-to-date
\nfigure because they had yet to finish their terms was, needless
\nto say, weak at best.<\/p>\n
The 6-month-old KPK should be tougher in collecting the facts
\non the actual, complete figures of the candidates' wealth and use
\nthis golden opportunity to disprove the allegation that its ranks
\nare not filled with the most critical, objective and impartial
\nindividuals.<\/p>\n
Honesty is an undebatable requisite for certain positions of
\npower, and president and vice president are among these. It goes
\nwithout saying that dishonest persons in top positions will put
\nthis country in real danger of becoming a failed state.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/our-wealthy-candidates-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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