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.