The question of gifts<\/p>\n
In the case of some government officials, gifts or grants are
\nreaching astounding proportions in terms of the value involved.
\nIn others, they are worth monitoring because they were received
\nmostly in the period 2000-2001. This phenomenon can be observed
\namong the majority of members of the House of Representatives and
\ncabinet ministers of former President Abdurrahman Wahid's
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
In the interest of our current fight against corruption and
\nfor honesty's sake, gifts or grants must be explained and their
\norigins clarified. Gifts that are anonymous, or explained as
\ncoming from a \"servant of God\", for example, must be regarded as
\nunlawful. In the case of gifts, however, the dubious enjoy the
\nprotection of the law. Articles of law exist that render gifts
\nlawful.<\/p>\n
Because of the dominance of corruptors in our bureaucracy and
\namong the elite, we are now moving toward the acceptance of false
\nstandards of morality. Considering this kind of mind-set among
\nmembers of the ruling elite, it is easy to understand why the
\nHouse of Representatives opposed the government's proposal to
\nintroduce reversing the burden of proof in cases of corruption.
\nIf this were accepted, anyone receiving gifts would have to be
\nable to prove that bribery is not involved. As things are at
\npresent, the burden of proving this belongs to the police and
\npublic prosecutors.<\/p>\n
-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-question-of-gifts-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }