Fighting illegal levies

Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono has expressed his determination to put himself in the forefront in the fight to eradicate illegal levies. Such a resolution, of course, is actually nothing new. Illegal, or additional levies have been a major public complaint since the beginning of the former New Order regime. All the same, the practice has continued to be persistent. People are aware that illegal levies contribute to our high-cost economy. Still, the practice remains ubiquitous as it appears to have become a part of our subculture.

Low civil service salaries are usually mentioned as the pretext for the practice. As monthly salaries are inadequate to cover even a mere two weeks of living expenses, civil servants are forced to take fees illicitly. Such "humanitarian" consideration are perhaps the reason why taking such fees is commonly accepted as normal. So widespread has the custom become that it has been said that no civil service exists in this country, since every service has to be paid for.

Perhaps, though, the resolve of our minister of education stands a greater chance of success if the government shows greater transparency in its stated determination to eradicate corruption. If transparency is practiced in each and every service the government gives to the public -- for instance by announcing in detail the cost and time needed for people to obtain a license -- this practice of illicitly asking for extra fees can be reduced to a minimum. Such a campaign would be even more successful if people had the courage to be more demanding and ask for a detailed explanation of the costs involved in getting whatever service they need.

-- Suara Karya, Jakarta