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.