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