Rating on RI's corruption draws mixed reactions<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The recent survey by Hong Kong-based Political
\nand Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd (PERC), which rated Indonesia
\nas the most corrupt country in Asia, has drawn mixed reactions.<\/p>\n
Commentators like legislator of the dominant Golkar grouping
\nTheo L. Sambuaga rejected the rating, saying the agency only
\nmeans to discredit Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Other commentators like economist Didik J. Rachbini from the
\nInstitute for Development of Economics and Finance and noted
\nsociologist Arief Budiman question the criteria used by the firm
\nto judge Indonesia as the most corrupt country in Asia. But they
\naccepted that corruption in the country has reached an acute
\nlevel.<\/p>\n
\"There is nothing new in the report,\" said Arief.<\/p>\n
Theo said yesterday the criteria as well as the consultancy
\nfirm's motives were questionable. He suspected the firm made the
\njudgment with certain business interests.<\/p>\n
\"The report does not detail how the survey was made. Thus, the
\nbasis for the assessment is unclear. This shows that PERC, like
\nmany research agencies which have lately thrived, exists only for
\ncertain business interests,\" Theo was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
The agencies, he said, discredited countries with big business
\npotential like Indonesia to scare away investors.<\/p>\n
\"We need not feel perturbed by the report since its basis is
\nunclear. But we really regret the statement,\" Theo said.<\/p>\n
The report did not give a time frame for the survey, but 280
\nexecutives were surveyed and asked to grade each country on a
\nscale of zero to 10, with zero being the best grade and 10 the
\nworst.<\/p>\n
Indonesia had the worst score of more than 8, followed by
\nIndia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines,
\nTaiwan, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.<\/p>\n
\"A series of high profile cases highlighted the extent to
\nwhich politically influential individuals were able to arrange
\nmatters to their own benefit. Growing nepotism ... was thus
\nprobably equated with corruption,\" the report said.<\/p>\n
The survey did not include any other countries on the Indian
\nsubcontinent, including Pakistan which was rated last year by a
\nBerlin-based rating agency as the world's second most corrupt
\nplace to do business after Nigeria.<\/p>\n
Didik and Arief told The Jakarta Post PERC's report was not
\nnew since many surveys in the past had pointed out the acuteness
\nof corruption in the country.<\/p>\n
However, both doubted the conclusion that Indonesia was the
\nmost corrupt country in Asia since countries like Bangladesh and
\nVietnam, they said, were also notoriously corrupt.<\/p>\n
\"In the Southeast Asian countries, we are certainly the worst.
\nCorruption in the Philippines is also high but the country is
\nstill better than us in the sense that its media can exercise
\ncontrol,\" said Arief.<\/p>\n
Didik said corruption in Indonesia had become an acute disease
\nthat took a long time to heal.<\/p>\n
\"We have had an anticorruption law since the 1970s. But it is
\na toothless tiger,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Didik said the government needed to take multiple approaches
\nin campaigning against corruption. The approaches include
\ndebureaucratization, deregulation, forming cleaner government and
\ndemocratization.<\/p>\n
Arief said the free press had a role as the main antidote
\nagainst corruption.<\/p>\n
A sociologist from the University of Indonesia, Paulus
\nWirotomo, said the report, however doubtful its method and
\ncriteria, would adversely affect Indonesia's image
\ninternationally. As such, if the government thought it was wrong,
\nit needed to make a counter report which also had an
\ninternational impact. (jsk)<\/p>\n
Editorial -- Page 4<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rating-on-ris-corruption-draws-mixed-reactions-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }