Combating corruption

Indonesia, based on international surveys, is currently one of the most corrupt countries in the world. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has promised to improve this bad image.

Many believe that it would be appropriate to consider the following two ideas: First, why don't we prefer saving government assets to resolving these matters in court? If we can do this, we will add cash inflow for our country.

On the other hand, if we settle corruption cases in court, it will be far from public expectations. Some very important people in Indonesia who have become suspects, for instance, can be released easily and the government gets nothing.

Second, it is also crucially important to improve the salaries of civil servants. What will happen if low-income investigators are involved in a big scandal? Any investigator could be tempted to make a deal with the suspects. The BNI case is a clear instance of this.

The two approaches above may invite some debate. Some investigators may prefer using punishment methods to finding means of recovering the financial losses as a result of corruption. The other option is to forget about criminal proceedings if the suspects are willing to return the stolen money to the state.

Significant and workable approaches must be applied to eradicate corruption in Indonesia.

TUMPAL W., Jakarta