Democracy brings good business ethics: Seminar

Democracy brings good business ethics: Seminar

JAKARTA (JP): Democracy encourages good political and business
ethics, but Indonesia must first establish a clear definition of
ethics, an economic observer said yesterday.

"Good business ethics are determined by a democratic political
system, but if the power-holder dominates, people won't be able
to promote morality," Eki Syachrudin told a seminar on good
political and business ethics.

He said morality was needed to prevent legal violations which
stemmed from poor ethics in the country's power system.

The campaign to promote morality and good ethics should come
from the society's elite, he said.

"The government's top leadership can lead the way to ethical
norms and practices," he said.

He also spoke of the need to "cleanse" people's souls through
contemplation of the meaning of life, by spiritual inspiration or
the exploitation of people's rationality. Education was a good
way to exploit people's rationality.

But corruption and unethical practices occur in even the most
democratic countries, he said. But people in power in those
countries had to pay for the consequences of their actions by
resigning from their positions.

"Otherwise, public support (for them) would decline and
eventually cause the power to shift to those in the margins of
official power, which is often called the opposition," he said.

"We must strive for greater democracy in our country if we
want to reduce corruption, collusion and nepotism," he said.

Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy director Abdul
Hakim Garuda Nusantara also addressed the seminar. He said that
in a democracy laws and ethics were expected to be enforced.

He stressed the need for ethical practices, including
transparency in awarding concessions, government procurement and
an impartial legal system.

Abdul urged businesses not only to consider profits but also
their social responsibilities to society.

Indonesian Business Data Center director Christianto Wibisono
said that universal ethics need not be partially formulated on
the basis of democratic life.

"It is not possible to solve ethical problems in business and
politics in this manner because they are universal. Bribery is
wrong and should be treated as such," Christianto said. (01)