Babies and corruption

Recently The Jakarta Post reported two separate news stories. One was that nearly seven million young Indonesian children are undernourished and at risk of permanent developmental damage because of poverty and malnutrition.

The second informed us that the disbursement of a second World Bank poverty-assistance loan of US$300 million has been canceled because of Indonesia's inadequate implementation of certain loan conditions during the implementation of the first $300 million tranche. Said the World Bank, "The reasons for the shortcomings are varied, but often resulted from the slow pace of meaningful change in institutions and bureaucratic culture". If there was any doubt about what the bank meant, their announcement ended on a refreshingly unambiguous note: some of the program funds were embezzled by corrupt officials.

If ever anyone needed confirmation of corruption's devastating effects, these two news items should be all the confirmation we will ever need. Why, then, is the government still treating corruption like an embarrassing odor someone leaves behind in a crowded room, rather than like the social killer it is? Indonesia has received millions of dollars in aid specifically for anticorruption efforts. If anyone needed confirmation of how questionable the results of these well-funded programs are, we need only refer to the candid remarks of former Justice Adi Andojo Soetjipto when he resigned from his position as head of one anticorruption groups: "We aren't accomplishing anything".

Too bad the same World Bank people that looked into the poverty program were not assigned to examine the anticorruption groups (which may be funded by other lenders). All these workshops, all the documents, all the nice websites, all the nice salaries and honoraria for board members ... but where are the changes? Which provinces and cities have significantly less corruption in daily life, as judged by their own citizens? Are Indonesian adults getting their money's worth from the funds spent on anticorruption programs? Let us hope they are doing better than the seven million babies who are suffering a slow wasting of their bodies and minds because money to alleviate their families' poverty has been stolen by corrupt officials.

DONNA K. WOODWARD

Medan, North Sumatra