War on graft not over yet<\/p>\n
Endy M. Bayuni, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives may have terminated one battle
\nagainst corruption by voting down the Buloggate II inquiry, but
\nthe war against corruption is not over yet by a long shot.<\/p>\n
If there is any lesson to be learned from this Buloggate II
\nepisode, it is that we can no longer count on the House, nor the
\nadministration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri for that
\nmatter, to wage the war against corruption, collusion and
\nnepotism on our behalf.<\/p>\n
But as the saying goes, it ain't over till the fat lady sings.
\nFrom now on, possibly until we elect a more pro-reform government
\nafter the 2004 general election, we will have to wage the war
\npractically by ourselves.<\/p>\n
There's no doubt however that losing the Buloggate II
\nrepresents a major set back for the reformation movement, and a
\nvictory for the anti-reformist camp.<\/p>\n
The vote effectively ended the campaign to investigate
\nallegations of corruption against Speaker Akbar Tandjung,
\nsupposedly committed in 1999 while he still served as the state
\nsecretary under then president B.J. Habibie.<\/p>\n
Akbar is currently standing trial in the Rp 40 billion ($4
\nmillion) graft case, although he remains free to go about his
\ndaily business, including leading the House and his Golkar Party.<\/p>\n
But some members of the House have been entertaining the idea
\nof launching a separate political inquiry, feeling that the court
\ntrials alone will not be enough to reveal any ethical violations
\nor even possible criminal acts committed by Akbar.<\/p>\n
The background to this inquiry was the allegation that Rp 40
\nbillion belonging to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) was used
\nto finance political parties during the 1999 elections.<\/p>\n
The campaign started in October with a petition by 50 House
\nmembers calling for a special inquiry.<\/p>\n
The scandal was immediately dubbed Buloggate II to distinguish
\nit from the Buloggate I scandal that ultimately brought down
\nPresident Abdurrahman Wahid in July of last year.<\/p>\n
For the past nine months, the nation has been debating the
\npros and cons of such an inquiry. The House held four plenary
\nsessions debating the issue before it put it to a vote on Monday.<\/p>\n
In retrospect, those lengthy debates, the many seminars, the
\nendless radio and television talk shows, and the hundreds of
\narticles and editorials written on the subject all seem like a
\nbig waste of time now, considering the outcome. The House could
\nhave spared the nation precious hours and resources had it
\nrejected the planned inquiry right from the start.<\/p>\n
As such, Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
\n(PDI Perjuangan), which had enough clout to ensure that the
\ninquiry was launched, wavered during the debate, keeping the
\nissue constantly on the front burner of the national political
\nagenda.<\/p>\n
On Monday, when the matter was finally put to a vote in the
\nHouse, the majority of the PDI Perjuangan abstained, effectively
\nkilling once and for all the debate, which has been part and
\nparcel of the national campaign to end graft in the country.<\/p>\n
While the episode has been a wasteful exercise, it has taught
\nus that neither the House of Representatives nor the Megawati
\nadministration have the strength or the political will to do what
\nis needed to end the corruption that has brought the country to
\nits present state of near bankruptcy.<\/p>\n
The way the Buloggate II campaign was terminated shows that
\njust about every politician is now more concerned about his seat,
\nmore specifically about the 2004 elections. They certainly have
\nabandoned any notion of eradicating corruption, although that was
\nthe campaign platform on which they were elected in 1999.<\/p>\n
The PDI Perjuangan's excuse for abstaining during Monday's
\nvote -- that it was satisfied with the ongoing legal proceedings
\nagainst Akbar -- was another attempt to gloss over the real
\nreason: A political deal with Akbar Tandjung's Golkar Party not
\nto upset the state of things before 2004. Being the second
\nlargest faction in the House, Golkar has used its clout
\neffectively against Megawati's administration and her PDI
\nPerjuangan to make sure that the Buloggate II inquiry never got
\noff the ground.<\/p>\n
The current legal proceedings against Akbar are not likely to
\nlead to anything substantial about his role in the Bulog scandal
\nbecause the government prosecutors have, from the outset, made it
\nclear that they were not interested in where the Rp 40 billion
\nwent. The dossier against Akbar was limited to his ability to
\naccount for the money; now that the money has been \"returned\" to
\nBulog, the prosecutors have virtually no case.<\/p>\n
If that's the way the government prosecutors deal with
\nallegations of corruption, it is no wonder that KKN remains
\nrampant. The judicial system has also a lot to answer for as
\nregards the nation's constant failure to punish corruptors. But
\nthat is another subject for debate for another time.<\/p>\n
For now, the House, particularly Megawati's PDI Perjuangan,
\nhas again let the nation down. Many people voted in the 1999
\ngeneral election hoping that these elected representatives, and
\nPDI Perjuangan in particular, would take the lead in eradicating
\ncorruption in Indonesia once and for all.<\/p>\n
In spite of the people's mandate, their record on this front
\nhas been so meager and disappointing that the public are starting
\nto lose their trust in House members. Buloggate II could have
\nturned things around. Alas, the honorable members decided to
\nsquander that opportunity.<\/p>\n
All is not lost, however. The reform movement may have
\nconceded one battle, but not the entire war against corruption.<\/p>\n
On the contrary, this episode has allowed the public to
\ndistinguish the real reformers from the phony ones. Since every
\npolitician seems to be preoccupied with 2004, we too should gear
\nourselves for that year and make sure that we use our ballot
\npaper wisely and effectively. From the Buloggate II episode, we
\nhave to make sure that we send the real reformers to Senayan.<\/p>",
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