Anti-graft drive 'must start with govt officials'

Anti-graft drive 'must start with govt officials'

Bambang Nurbianto and Abu Hanifah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri and high-ranking government
officials will have to avoid corruption themselves if they want
anticorruption campaigns to succeed, observers say.

"If Megawati and high-ranking government officials really want
to fight corruption, they had better start with their own
families," George Junus Aditjondro told The Jakarta Post by phone
on Monday.

"The most important thing is that there is a willingness from
the President, Vice President and Cabinet ministers not to commit
corruption anymore," a senior executive from the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Harry Tjan Silalahi,
said on Monday.

George and Harry were commenting on Megawati's statement on
Sunday that corruptors were thieves, and therefore must be
brought to justice.

Megawati's statement on corruption would be meaningless until
she could prove that her government was able to take concrete
measures in fighting against corruption, said George, a former
lecturer at Satya Wacana University in Salatiga, Central Java,
who now lives in Australia.

George also called on government officials and legislators as
well as those holding key state positions to give up all their
positions in the business sector in order to avoid conflicts of
interest.

Harry stressed the need for concrete action against corruption
by Megawati, her aides and other government officials.

"Government officials have repeatedly pledged to combat
corruption, but they have not done anything concrete to wipe out
corruption," he said.

According to Harry, a crackdown against corruptors could be
started if the anticorruption drive was enshrined in the mindset
of every key government official.

"Officials suspected of committing corruption must be charged
and, if found guilty, they must be forced to return their ill-
gotten wealth to the state," he said.

Meanwhile, former economics minister Mohammad Sadli expressed
pessimism on Monday that Megawati would make a significant move
to fight corruption.

"I do not see that there will be any significant achievements
in fighting against corruption. Megawati made the wrong start by
appointing M.A. Rachman as Attorney General and nominating Comr.
Gen. Da'i Bachtiar for the National Police chief post," he said.

According to Sadli, who served as both a manpower minister and
mines and energy minister under the Suharto regime, Rachman and
Da'i would not act resolutely against big time corrupters as both
of them were rumored to be very close to suspected corrupters.

Sadli said there were two key strengths that could be used to
fight against corruption and those were firstly the
Anticorruption Law which had been approved by the House of
Representatives, and secondly the freedom of the press.

He said fighting against corruption must not only be focussed
at the national level as there was also rampant corruption at
both the district and provincial levels.

"We should fight corruptions at all levels. All anticorruption
movements should also pay serious attention to corruption in the
regions by empowering existing resources like regional councils
and local non-governmental organizations," Sadli added.

Hendardi, chairman of the Indonesian Legal and Human Rights
Association (PBHI) said that Megawati should have a clear concept
of how to fight corruption. "It is impossible for political
leaders in Indonesia to be successful in leading the fight
against corruption without clear concepts," he said.

He also stressed the need for Megawati's government to cut
relations with former officials of the New Order regime as
corruption was rampant under the Soeharto government.