'Corruptors should be sentenced to death'

Judges at the Central Jakarta District Court sentenced suspended Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh to 10 years in jail last week, while the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested General Elections Commission member Mulyana W. Kusuma for alleged attempted bribery. Are law enforcers now becoming serious about fighting the rampant corruption that has been blamed for pushing the country's economy to the brink of disaster? The Jakarta Post interviewed some Jakarta residents on the issue.

Melvi, 27, is a secretary who works for a media company and lives with her family in Depok, West Java.

Regardless of who gets arrested or convicted for corruption, I have long believed that no one can really be trusted.

Even those who are very critical of the government's campaign against rampant corruption, including activists, are vulnerable to temptation and might themselves be involved in graft and corruption.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's fight against corruption has actually produced improvements, but I'm afraid his subordinates are not free of corruption. He cannot trust anybody.

We don't know if State Audit Agency (BPK) or Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) members themselves are involved in corruption.

It's high time to impose draconian punishments on corrupters in the same way that the Chinese authorities do. No matter how small an amount of money they stole, corruptors should be sentenced to death.

Marco, 22, is a student in the History Department at the University of Indonesia's School of Humanities. He lives with his parents in Tebet, South Jakarta.

The way I look at it is that the strategy of fighting corruption by arresting top bureaucrats such as governors, mayors, and prominent public figures is the right way to go.

Susilo's government has shown great improvements as regards fighting against corruption compared to previous governments, which only bought time for big corruptors to escape justice after their crimes had been exposed.

The KPK has done a good job by arresting several prominent officials; it is a good thing. However, I don't want to give any credit or compliments to anyone yet, as there is no proof that just verdicts will be handed down in these graft cases once they come to court.

The Jakarta Post