Citizen certificate and graft
Perhaps the most appalling incident of late, amid the national crusade for a clean and democratic government, is the story of yet another victim of the corrupt bureaucracy. This news came in the wake of the authorities demonstration of a greater tolerance toward Chinese-Indonesians. The Chinese are now allowed to celebrate their New Year festival and it has been declared a national holiday.
Since the casualty in this case was a badminton champion, Hendrawan, a Chinese-Indonesian, the news has stunned people as it emerged just as the champion was preparing to defend Indonesia in the Thomas Cup in Guangzhou, China.
Hendrawan was unable to obtain an Indonesian Citizenship Certificate (SBKRI) after trying unsuccessfully to penetrate the jungle of illicit business within the bureaucracy. The 30-year- old champion is not the only Chinese-Indonesian to have faced this problem. One has to question oneself as to how this could have happened when Indonesians of Chinese origin have lived in this country for centuries, long before the Dutch colonial power set foot in this archipelago in the 17th century. In Jakarta, the Chinese have lived here since the present day downtown Jakarta was still swamp land.
Hendrawan was only able to obtain the certificate after the personal intervention of President Megawati Soekarnoputri. It seems that history has repeated itself without anyone learning the lesson. Twenty years ago, Ivana Lie, another noted badminton champion, also faced the same senseless headache. Ivana's problem ended after the personal intervention of president Soeharto. Ivana and Hendrawan were able to solve their problem because they are national figures. But who will help the lesser known Chinese- Indonesians who have been in the same predicament for decades?
To get a citizenship certificate is not only a very complex problem but since corruption is also involved it has become a very complicated question. You have to beg at least 12 bureaucratic institutions before you can get your certificate. You start with begging a signature from the head of your neighborhood unit, later from the subdistrict office, the district office, the municipality office, the governor's office, the police subprecinct, the police precinct, the city police headquarters, the prosecutor's office, the district court, and finally the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. In each of these agencies you have to pay. The certificate is a must otherwise you cannot process many other documents, including passports, business licenses, credit applications and even university enrollment.
Actually the authorities have stepped in to take the burden off the people's shoulders but the result remains to be seen. For example, in 1996, president Soeharto issued a decree stating that a citizenship certificate was no longer necessary. The decree was further strengthened by president B. J. Habibie's decree in 1988, which instructs government agencies to provide the same service to all citizens, without prejudize or discrimination. Even though there was another instruction, issued in 1999 ordering all government officials to follow up on his earlier instruction and barring government agencies and officials from discriminating against Indonesians based on their ethnic background, the officials always find a way to defy orders. This time they said the decree lacked the technical instructions to implement it.
Corrupt officials have emerged as victors because the authorities have been reluctant to probe further into the case. Lack of supervision is an ugly disease in our bureaucracy. And, as in other agenies that provide public services, corrupt officials are free to blackmail the people. In this case the Chinese-Indonesians have no recourse other than to do what the corrupt officials say. In most cases the officials are not acting out of ethnic sentiments, much less morality. Their victims are people of any group or color.