Cheating God

Indonesia is renowned as a nation with a long history rich in culture. That culture apparently has evolved to embrace corruption.

The latest revelation that hundreds of billions of rupiah in haj pilgrimage funds have been misappropriated reflects just how far some of us have descended to become a nation of cheats.

Even God is not safe from being exploited.

An investigation by an interdepartmental anticorruption team has unveiled suspicions of a long-running scam at the Ministry of Religious Affairs involving funds deposited for the annual haj pilgrimage. The ministry's director general for Islamic guidance and haj management has been detained over the suspected offense. As many as three former ministers could also be implicated in the affair.

News of the scam first came to the fore when an audit by the Development Finance Controller (BPKP) found various irregularities in the management of the funds.

The case was then taken up as by the newly formed interdepartmental corruption eradication team as its introductory case.

If these allegations are reconfirmed in court, it will highlight what has effectively been a public secret for many, many years.

For a long time the public has observed from afar with a wary eye the management of the haj by ministry officials. Though few would dare assert it in public, allegations of suspected corruption have always been talked about in hushed tones.

Each year trillions of rupiah from private funds are paid by haj pilgrims to the government which has a monopoly on organizing and licensing the holy visit to Mecca.

For the last few years Indonesia has sent an average of 200,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. The latest cost for the haj pilgrimage set by the government is around Rp 28 million (US$2,900) per person. The accumulated amount over the years a mindboggling figure.

One can just imagine the pots of gold standing before ministry officials. Finally, the temptation was too hard to resist.

It seems that in this country corruption knows no discrimination. After reports of stealing from state projects, the poor and the sick, there is now no inhibition about stealing from God.

For the affluent urban elite, the pilgrimage almost seems like a holiday which they undertake every few years. But for most Indonesian Muslims, the pilgrimage is a life culminating experience -- an apex in the long journey to attain personal significance other than material accomplishment. It is on a par with marriage, the birth of a child or death of a loved one as a life altering experience.

With prodigious faith in the divine, those with limited disposable income spend their life savings to fulfill God's summons. Others peddle their livestock or sell the patch of land which has supported the family for decades. All in a desire to be closer to the Almighty.

The saddest part of the latest scandal is that it is believed to be perpetrated by people whose profession demanded a higher moral character.

This is not a simple markup in the construction of a bridge, or siphoning a little extra from a state sponsored business project.

The pilgrims are the simplest of folk who surrender their material possessions not for profit, but for spiritual redemption. That someone would have the gall to exploit the holiest of rituals for Muslims shows they have little respect for their fellow man, or God for that matter.

Given the perceived "rot" concerning the haj affair which has likely gone on for years, the interdepartmental team's investigation is likely to uncover more skeletons in the closet.

We fully support the team's efforts and encourage them to pursue their investigation resiliently. The fact that they have chosen to delve into corruption at the Ministry of Religious Affairs is a strategic step.

It touches on an issue which the public is sympathetic about too -- since all Muslims dream of going on the pilgrimage at least once in their life. But it is also an "easy" ministry to shake down given its relatively limited political clout. Despite the billions of rupiah, a shakedown of this ministry has few political repercussions.

This is the start the new team needs. Once emboldened with greater public trust and self confidence it is our expectation that, with God now on its side, the interdepartmental team will continue to break down doors in other more sensitive government offices.