Baramuli, lawmaker who provokes curiosity

Baramuli, lawmaker who provokes curiosity

JAKARTA (JP): Among 35 people awarded Indonesia's second
highest distinguished medal, the Bintang Mahaputra, was outspoken
legislator A.A. Baramuli whose ideas and statements often provoke
public curiosity.

The award presentation was held last Friday in conjunction
with the country's 52nd independence anniversary which fell on
Sunday.

Baramuli, along with a few other House members, once suggested
the need for Indonesia to set up an anti-corruption agency to
diminish, if not eliminate, rampant monetary irregularities of
government officials throughout the country.

He said to achieve a clean government, high-ranking officials
should announce their wealth so as to instill public trust that
they did not collude in exercising their authority and power.

"There must always be a beginning for something -- also in
fighting corruption. Perhaps the government could begin by
whitewashing the origin and whereabouts of officials' wealth and
then ask them to contribute 30 percent of what they own to the
country," Baramuli told The Jakarta Post in an interview Monday.

He also said paying civil servants with sound and realistic
salaries would be one way of eliminating corruption, which would
eventually lead to a high-cost economy.

"(Realistic salaries) are needed so that civil servants can
earn more than just to make ends meet, as well as finance their
children's education," he added.

Touching on the widening economic gap between the rich and
poor, he said the government should take concrete steps to
overcome the issue by implementing a fair system of wealth
distribution to all layers of society.

Baramuli made headlines in local newspapers three years ago
when he disclosed a US$430 million letter of credit fiasco at a
state-owned bank.

It was the greatest bank scam that ever occurred in the
country. The case drew public attention, especially after the
perpetrator, Eddy Tansil, escaped from prison in May last year.

Born in July 1930, in Pinrang, South Sulawesi, Baramuli
graduated from the prestigious University of Indonesia's School
of Law in 1955.

In 1960, at the age of 29, he was appointed governor of South
and Central Sulawesi -- troubled regions that were affected by a
separatist rebellion on the island.

Currently, Baramuli is active in the National Commission on
Human Rights and is chairman of the Supervisory Council of the
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

When asked about his services to the country which earned him
the Mahaputra medal, Baramuli said there were at least two
occasions which impressed him most. The first one was when he
helped transport some 10,000 Permesta rebels from Sulawesi to
Java and persuaded them to pledge loyalty to the central
government in the early 1960s.

The second was when he and his colleagues from the human
rights commission helped settle the decade-long land dispute
between landowners and developers in East Java.

"We approached the disputing parties humanely and
realistically in solving their problems," he said. (ego)