Corrupt bureaucrates attacked

Corrupt bureaucrates attacked

JAKARTA (JP): A senior official at the Ministry of Home
Affairs renewed his attack yesterday against fellow officials for
taking bribes from prospective employees.

"There have been cases recently where the recruitment of
Ministry of Home Affairs employees was done in ways which were
not objective," according to the ministry's secretary-general
Suryatna Subrata yesterday. "They were recruited in a corrupt
manner."

Addressing a monthly gathering of employees at the ministry,
Suryatna said such corrupt practices would adversely influence
the employees' performance.

This is the second time Suryatna has revealed corruption in
his office. In Bali last week, he admitted that some civil
servants in all ministries had not been recruited in an objective
and fair manner, and that some job applicants had bribed
officials.

"The practice is common in every region of the country," he
said then, adding that bribery was only one of several corrupt
practices. He identified nepotism as another practice that
adversely influenced the quality of Indonesia's human resources.

He said the ministry had imposed administrative sanctions on
officials found guilty of violating the established procedure for
civil servants' recruitment.

He cited that some officials at several Central Java offices
had either been reprimanded, demoted or even fired.

He blamed the rampant corruption on the weak supervisory
system, but promised to make improvements.

Vice President Try Sutrisno opened a gathering of officials
yesterday to discuss administrative reform. He stressed to the
audience the importance of an efficient organization for the sake
of improved regional autonomy.

"Regional autonomy needs appropriate organizational support so
the state apparatus can effectively and efficiently run the
country," he said.

Try maintained that regional autonomy was one of the best ways
to implement economical, social and political development. (imn)