Dealing with corruption

Without wanting to blame anyone, it must be said that, for Indonesia, corruption is one of the society's most pervasive evils.

Though it is not quite clear when and how it all began, Indonesia is often said to be among the most corrupt countries in the world.

This is attested by reports from studies on corruption that have been made by several international institutions. Various case histories show that corruption has become a part of our community life and is, therefore, difficult to eradicate. This, however, should not mean that we succumb to the situation.

Before long we will be entering an era of globalization that is marked by fierce competition. To be able to succeed in such an environment, the only option available to us is to bring about efficiency in all sectors of our public life. This means that we must put an end to corruption, abuse of authority and other similar immoral acts.

We have actually, for a long time, been striving to eradicate corruption and other irregularities in all their manifestations. Yet, corruption and other such acts have continued to flourish and they have even become internalized in our lives and part of our culture.

It is therefore time that we try to learn from other countries which have tried to become more efficient in dealing with corruption. At the very least, we could learn from South Korea which has lately been trying hard to become an efficient society.

If all these efforts are inadequate, we could adopt the four- point corruption eradication program the World Bank offered, especially when it involves projects which it will help finance.

These four points are: establishing stricter loan rules; supporting the anticorruption program through economic reform and the strengthening of institutions that are vital for development; incorporating the corruption problem in the development agenda; and expounding on the corruption issue in the international arena.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta