Corruption, who cares?

Corruption, who cares?

"I don't care," has apparently become a catchphrase among
government officials, following President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono's example. Responding to a survey showing his declining
popularity, the President said earlier this month: "I don't care
about my popularity."

The President's words have given others in his circle an idea
or two. Minister of Finance Yusuf Anwar, when asked about a
survey by Transparency International Indonesia (TII) showing the
customs office as the most corrupt institution in the country,
said on Thursday, "Just let it go. I don't care."

A similar response also came from Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso
over the labeling of Jakarta as the most corrupt city in the
country by the TII. Although he did not use the words "I don't
care", Sutiyoso retorted that the wrong businesspeople were
probably selected as respondents -- those who did not win tenders
for city projects.

The indifference of Yusuf and Sutiyoso is particularly
worrying as it is in response to corruption within institutions
under their command.

The TII's survey, which places the customs office as the most
corrupt institution in the country, is actually not surprising.
It just confirms public perception, and even a previous survey by
the World Bank that ranks customs and also the tax office as two
of the most corrupt institutions. The TII survey puts the tax
office in 11th place on its list of most corrupt institutions.

Rather than belittling the survey, the minister should have
used it as a tool to further pressure the customs office to
improve on its performance, or to set about removing corrupt
officials from the customs office.

Similarly, Sutiyoso's serious consideration of the results
would have been more reassuring than his defensiveness. Actually,
his argument -- that it makes sense that most corruption cases
occur in Jakarta as 70 percent of financial transactions in the
country take place in the capital -- could be spot on. However,
stating the obvious as a defense just sounds like making excuses.

At the very least, Sutiyoso and Yusuf should have welcomed the
results as a commendable effort from the TII in the fight against
corruption.

Indeed, the TII's 2004 Indonesian Corruption Perception Index
survey is a good reminder to all of us of our duty to refuse to
tolerate corruption in our government, as well as in our society.

Any civil effort, no matter how small, strengthens the
campaign against corruption, particularly at a time when the
legal institutions at the helm of the corruption fight are
struggling in their mission.

One of the most important of these institutions is the
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), an independent
institution established in 2002, following a prolonged tug-of-war
between the government and members of the House of
Representatives. While it struggles to bring to justice big-time
embezzlers, the latest Constitutional Court verdict was a major
blow for the commission.

Although the verdict recognizes the commission's existence, it
says the commission can not try cases that predate its
establishment.

Another key institution in the fight against corruption is the
Attorney General's Office. Interestingly, in a hearing between
House Commission II and III and the Attorney General's Office on
Thursday, one legislator referred to the office as a "village of
thieves", prompting a heated debate. Although this statement was
probably politically motivated, it also stirs in us the uneasy
feeling that we can not hope for too much from prosecutors in
sending major corruption suspects to prison.

Is our battle against corruption really so futile? That all
depends on which way you are looking at it. Reassurances can be
found, that the country is inching toward its goal of creating
clean governance, in the progress made by various civic groups
outside the government, such as the TII, the Indonesian
Corruption Watch and other anticorruption groups and activists.
The next question is, how fast are we are proceeding. Maybe not
fast enough, but at least, when public officials are not
concerned about combating corruption, somebody else in society is
willing to fight in their place.