Believe it or not

Unbelievable things do happen in Indonesia, to an unbelievable extent and in unbelievable ways. For example, the country is top of the list of the most corrupt countries in the world. And yet, only a handful of wrongdoers have been prosecuted. No wonder, the Ripley's Believe It or Not exhibition in Jakarta was forced to close down two years ago, reportedly because of poor business. Was it perhaps a case that it could no longer compete with the quality of unbelievable things that regularly happen here?

The latest in this theater of the absurd is the report that 77 vehicles valued at more than Rp 5 billion (about US$581,395 million) have been retained by former General Election Commission (KPU) members and officials ever since the 1999 election. Among those who have refused to return the state-owned vehicles are, of all people, former minister of home affairs Gen. (ret) Rudini, two retired directors general of social and political affairs at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Djunidja and Sutoyo, and politicians Sri Bintang Pamungkas, Mahadi Sinambela and Yahya C. Staquf.

KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti said that among the ludicrous excuses given by these recalcitrant officials was "my children still need the use of the cars".

Sources disclose that the case of the "missing" cars is just the tip of a scandalous iceberg within the KPU. Rumor has it that an estimated 35 percent of the Rp 1.5 trillion budget for the 1999 election was embezzled or, to use politically correct phraseology, has not been accounted for. The KPU's budget for the coming 2004 election is about Rp 3.2 billion. And reportedly, certain parties have already started jostling to be designated as "election contractors" so as to get a piece of the action.

Is conscience such an incredibly rare and elusive quality here? Should we ask Ripley to reopen its exhibition hall featuring a different kind of show? Something like, "Believe It or Not, the Indonesian Way"?