Anti-corruption record poor as ever

Anti-corruption record poor as ever

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In 2004, almost six years after the dawn of the reform movement,
Indonesia's record on corruption remained shabby as ever.

In circumstances that would have raised eyebrows almost
anywhere else, a main suspect in a multimillion dollar fraud case
at state Bank BNI, Adrian Herling Wawowuruntu, somehow walked out
of the police station where he was being held. Rumor has it that
Adrian slept in one of the police investigation rooms for one day
before fleeing overseas.

Adrian's case is a pretty good example of the level of
commitment of law enforcement agencies to the fight against
corruption.

In May, all 30 members of the Cirebon municipal legislative
council were named suspects for allegedly misusing hundreds of
millions of rupiah from the 2001 city budget.

Two months later, a court in Padang, West Sumatra, sentenced
the West Sumatra Legislative Council speaker, his two deputies
and 40 other councillors to up to two years and three months in
prison for embezzling Rp 6.4 billion from the province's 2002
budget.

A report published by Indonesian Corruption Watch offered an
insight into the state of corruption at the local level. It said
that between January and August alone, 314 cases of corruption
were found in various tiers of government, mostly in regency and
municipal administrations.

This appeared to confirm post-reform indications that
corruption had spread from the central government to regional
governments in the wake of regional autonomy.

A report from the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI)
confirmed that Indonesia was having little success against
corruption.

In its latest report released late in October, the TI said
that out of 146 countries surveyed Indonesia was the fifth most
corrupt nation after Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Ivory Coast and Georgia. The country was tied with Tajikistan and
Turkmenistan on the list.

The country's poor anti-graft record came amid strident calls
from candidates contesting the legislative and presidential
elections to step up the anti-corruption measures.

Corruption eradication has become a catchphrase to attract the
widest possible range of support from the electorate. However,
the phrase rings hollow given that the country has made no
progress in the fight against corruption.

This failure has irked experts and anti-graft activists, some
of whom have proposed their own measures for combating
corruption.

Legal expert Frans Hendra Winarta suggested that the
government could make a breakthrough by shifting the burden of
proof to the accused, as stipulated in the anti-graft law.

Others have called for suspected corruptors who have fled the
country to be tried in absentia.

Two new Cabinet ministers also have hit upon a new method to
deter officials from perpetrating corruption.

Days after being sworn in, State Minister for Administrative
Reform Taufik Effendi demanded that all civil servants sign a
contract vowing not to become involved in corruption on penalty
of serious punishment.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin has sent
a number of convicted corruptors to the notorious Nusakambangan
prison island in the hope that this will prove to be a deterrent
for would-be corrupters.

A new agency set up to deal with major corruption cases, the
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), proposed an amendment to
anti-graft Law No. 20/2002, saying the law did not give the
commission the power to embark on a full-fledged anti-corruption
drive.

"We want access to suspected corruptors bank accounts," KPK
chairman Taufiqurrachman Ruki said.

However, all of these proposals and actions will make little
difference if the country's leaders do not throw their political
weight behind the anti-graft drive.

"If the President actively encourages the eradication of
corruption, hopefully the drive to eradicate corruption in
Indonesia will be more intensive than before. In a patriarchal
society, the leaders must provide a good example," anti-graft
activist Saldi Isra said.

In a speech delivered hours after his inauguration, President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he would personally lead the fight
against corruption.

It just remains to be seen whether his words will translate
into action. The public is waiting.