Corruption eradication starts in W. Sumatra

Corruption eradication starts in W. Sumatra

When Padang District Court handed down jail sentences to 43 West Sumatra provincial councillors for corruption, we could say that was a special case. But, with speaker of the Payakumbuh legislative council, Chin Star, along with 24 other councillors, about to be interrogated on allegations of financial impropriety, we hope that a corruption eradication drive has just started in West Sumatra.

Many say what is going on in the country is structural corruption, meaning that almost everyone is corrupt. The difference is the level of corruption.

Therefore, we need an indication of the government's seriousness in combating corruption, which has obviously destroyed the country's economy and the nation's morale. We've been longing for a remedy for the destruction caused by corruption. The moves in West Sumatra appear to have raised new hope in us.

West Sumatra has a good reputation for its "clean" citizens. We can identify Bung Hatta (one of the country's founding fathers and the first vice president) and Syafii Maarif, chairman of the second-largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, as examples. But things have probably changed.

We hope that the West Sumatra issue will become a snowball that will roll on to other provinces such as Aceh, West Java and Lampung. -- Kompas, Jakarta