'Reformasi' should deal with corruptors<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana and Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A businessman once shared with an acquaintance his frustration
\nand confusion in doing business in the democratic, but corrupt
\nclimate of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"Before reformasi (reform), you knew the price (of
\ncorruption), whom to pay and what you got from (doing it).<\/p>\n
\"Nowadays, you never know the price, whom to pay and whether
\nyou will get it in the end,\" said the businessman.<\/p>\n
His statement clearly reflects the current corruption problem
\nin Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The reform movement started in May 1998 with one of its agenda
\nbeing the eradication of corruption; however, corruption is not
\ndecreasing. Instead, it's on the rise.<\/p>\n
International surveys, including those by Transparency
\nInternational, show that corruption in the country is becoming
\nmore severe, making Indonesia one of the world's most corrupt
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was ranked 88th out of 91 countries surveyed by
\nTransparency International, coming in just above Uganda, Nigeria
\nand Bangladesh, with the lowest place reserved for the most
\ncorrupt country. In 2000, Indonesia placed 85th on the list.<\/p>\n
Under former president Soeharto's rule, corruption was
\nallegedly confined to Soeharto's inner circle.<\/p>\n
Now, however, corruption is widespread, affecting more people
\nand more areas in the country.<\/p>\n
\"Not only President Megawati (Soekarnoputri), but the House of
\nRepresentatives and regional governments are currently not free
\nof the allurement of corruption,\" Teten Masduki, the coordinator
\nof the Indonesian Corruption Watch, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"The only positive thing to come out of the reform movement
\nhas been that we have a strong watchdog for corruption -- the
\nfree media,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The gloomy face of the state of corruption in this country
\nshould be of great concern to the public.<\/p>\n
While the reform movement is under way, corruption should have
\nbeen the first target of reform as it poses the most danger in
\nalmost every aspect of people's lives.<\/p>\n
In the economic sector, corruption comes at a high cost to the
\neconomy, in which the public would certainly bear the losses.<\/p>\n
Under a corrupt system, business communities are forced to
\nallocate parts of their production funds to bribe government
\nofficials at the expense of the public, who are later forced to
\npay higher prices for goods and services.<\/p>\n
\"Companies are in a weak position because they must either
\nfollow the system or they'll never be allowed to operate in the
\nmarket,\" said Indra Ibrahim, the chairman of the Indonesian
\nTextile Association.<\/p>\n
In addition, corruption brings adverse effects to the social
\nand political sectors.<\/p>\n
According to Teten, the majority of the public do not have
\naccess to a proper share of the country's economic resources
\nunder a corrupt regime, since those funds would fall only to the
\nhaves and those who are in power.<\/p>\n
Corruption would eventually aggravate the widening gap between
\nthe haves and the poor.<\/p>\n
In politics, the soaring use of political money would also
\nhamper the development of democracy, which would eventually pose
\na serious threat to the continuing reform movement, Teten added.<\/p>\n
Judging from the dangers of corruption, corruptors must be
\npunished severely to deter new corrupt practices, said political
\nobserver Daniel Sparingga and lawyer Kamal Firdaus.<\/p>\n
Daniel, a lecturer at Airlangga University in Surabaya, and
\nKamal, the chairman of the Indonesian Court Monitoring, said that
\nthe court should impose the stiffest sentence, such as the death
\npenalty, for those who are convicted of corruption.<\/p>\n
\"This would help deter people from committing corruption in
\nthe future,\" said Daniel.<\/p>\n
To insure that justice is established, Kamal said the reform
\nmovement should first of all touch on the corrupt legal system.<\/p>\n
\"Corrupt prosecutors, judges, police and lawyers must be dealt
\nwith first to create a credible, clean and respected legal
\nsystem,\" said Kamal.<\/p>",
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