A starting point in eradicating graft: A personal experience

A starting point in eradicating graft: A personal experience

Gamawan Fauzi

In the past few decades, graft has become extremely difficult to separate from Indonesian society. Voices of concern against graft have been heard in many places but corruption has become even more widespread, involving nearly all institutions and social bodies in cities and villages.

As the voices demanding that corruption be stopped gain intensity, corrupt practices have also intensified. Even if we as yet do not consider graft part of our culture, graft-related practices now seem to be natural part of our daily lives.

Some small examples are common and well-known. When drivers violate traffic regulations, they can easily bribe a traffic officer on duty and avoid the penalty. When paying an official fee for a driver's license or a residential identity card, people almost never pay the official rate. Ridiculously, people now feel awkward if they simply say thank you after obtaining a license and do not pay a "gratuity".

When contractors win a tender, it they are considered ungrateful if they do not give anything to the officials in charge. In some cases, these officials will ask for a percentage of the value of the project.

We often hear these sentences: "Everything can be arranged." Or "There are many ways to Rome." or, "Still, what counts is your understanding..."

As a result, instead of trusting themselves or the innate value of their businesses, people usually rely on others' help when they apply for a job or tender for a project; seeking the backing of people with power or influence.

This behavior is simply a symptom of an ingrained structural problem. The crux of the matter is that the system does not work well and people can no longer trust it to deliver a fair outcome.

There should be no need to pay for "support" in recruitment if the system ran well and the laws were complied with and consistently enforced. For as long as the system does not run as it was intended the bribery will continue.

The Minang people of West Sumatra have a saying, "Ambiak contoh ka nan sudah, ambiak tuah ka nan manang -- take your lessons from past realities.

Once an action has a good result, it is repeated in the future.

Corruption has become so complicated a problem in our country that when there is a call to eradicate it, it is often taken as a joke.

"Where would you start?" a friend of mine asked, laughing cynically, when I told him that a Jakarta-based newspaper had asked me to contribute my ideas about how we should fight corruption. Many people complained about corruption only because they did not get their share or because their share was too small, he said.

"Look," my friend said. "How many people used to be very outspoken against corruption but then went quiet about it once they got a position in society?" "In some cases," he went on, "these people even try and justify their acts."

Before getting positions, he said, they would consider the misuse of official houses or cars as illegal.

However, when they got a position, everything was considered fair play.

Talking about corruption was just like playing back an old distorted tape cassette, he said.

Is it fair to say that any effort to eradicate corruption is hopeless? Especially when everyone knows that corruption is wrong in legal, social, moral and religious terms.

Why then, has corruption become so widespread? A survey released by a Hong Kong-based institution has ranked Indonesia as the sixth-most corrupt country in the world.

Some people say corruption is common in developing countries while others believe it is simply a matter of law enforcement. There is also an opinion that corruption is top-down, linked to the traditions of a corrupt regime or that it is related to the generally low level of education among the people. In short, you can find a multitude of reasons for widespread corruption.

Regardless of the theories, noted Muslim preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar (popularly known as A'a Gym) advises us that efforts to eliminate corruption should start from ourselves. We must refrain from practicing corruption from now on -- we must not wait -- and must start by eliminating the most insignificant forms.

It will not be easy to eliminate corruption as it has become deeply rooted in the community during the past few decades. Even to just reduce corruption will be a Herculean task.

However, no matter how difficult the fight will be, it will be worth it because it has brought about untold suffering to the community.

Based on my experiences and observations eliminating corruption, I have several ideas to offer:

1. All those in public life at all levels of society must always speak out against corruption so that the public will believe it is contemptible and shameful.

Unlike the present situation where people have become desensitized to corruption, the wealthy will become ashamed of their riches if they are suspected of amassing it illegally.

2. Laws and regulations must be put in order so that there are no opportunities for corruption. Today there are many weak regulations that allow if not encourage the practice.

Every ministry or government institution should be cleaned of graft. Experience shows that the weaknesses of a system often encourage corruption.

3. Improve the welfare of civil servants. Poor salaries will encourage illegal behavior in civil servants to make ends meet; send their children to school, pay medical bills or save for their old age.

If they are adequately paid, they will think twice before engaging in corruption especially if the penalty is heavy. A good example worth learning from is former premier Lee Kuan Yew when he began building Singapore. Most specifically, law enforcers must have adequate renumeration, and if necessary, their welfare levels must be higher than those of other civil servants to make them less prone to bribery.

4. All those giving and receiving bribes must never be tolerated -- at any level. Considerations of "political stability" are generally pretexts to stop investigations against corrupt politicians and anybody giving bribes must be severely punished.

If political stability is the reason for the government abandoning its fight against corruption then it will continue unabated in the country.

"Shock therapy" for each graft case identified in each reason is necessary -- a heavy penalty for the worst perpetrators will serve as a useful deterrent to them and others.

All these methods are not panaceas; they will not cure this chronic social ill overnight. But they should have an effect combined with religion, education and traditional values.

The writer is the regent of Solok, West Sumatra and one of the recipients of 2004 Bung Hatta Anitcorruption Award