From Jenkins to Winters

When Sydney Morning Herald journalist David Jenkins wrote in 1986 that president Soeharto, his children and cronies were abusing his position to amass personal fortunes, the Indonesian government's response was harsh and swift. A whole planeload of Australian tourists arriving in Bali was turned back as Indonesia canceled a visa-on-arrival agreement, the government issued a blanket ban on all Australian journalists, and the Armed Forces canceled automatic rights for Royal Australian Air Force planes to fly over its territory. Relations between the two countries suffered a major setback, and it took many years and enormous diplomatic resources for the two nations to mend fences.

Given the tyrannical nature of Soeharto's rule, that kind of erratic response was not surprising. Still, in retrospect, one wonders today what might have happened if the government had used Jenkins' articles to launch an investigation into his accusations of corruption. Instead, we have had to wait a full 12 years for these allegations to be probed, and then, only half-heartedly.

The present government of President B.J. Habibie seems not to have learned anything from this incident. This week it reacted in almost the same fashion to an accusation by Jeffrey Winters of Northwestern University in Chicago, except stopping short of ruining Indonesia-U.S. relations. Instead of taking a cue from Winters' allegations of corruption, the government turned against the accuser. Rather than going after the corruptors alleged by Winters, the government asked the police to go after Winters, on charges of slandering government officials.

Winters, like Jenkins, has spent a great deal of time studying Indonesia and he is undoubtedly an authoritative scholar on the subject. Whatever he has to say carries some weight. This includes his suggestion that senior government officials lack the political will to investigate corruption, not only because they fear former president Soeharto, but also because many of them could be dragged down into the mire by any investigation's results.

Among the officials he singled out in his media conference on Monday in Jakarta was Ginandjar Kartasasmita, the coordinating minister for economy, finance and industry, who recently initiated a fact-finding team to investigate World Bank funds that had allegedly been siphoned off. Winters said Ginandjar had been accused of collusive practices in his dealings with PT Freeport Indonesia -- the giant American copper and gold mining company -- during his tenure as mines and energy minister between 1988 and 1993. The American scholar said that until Ginandjar could absolve himself of these accusations, his credibility to lead an anticorruption institution should be put in doubt.

Irrespective of whether Winters is right or wrong in his accusations, the government's reaction has only enhanced the public perception that it is still not serious about stamping out corruption in high places. Habibie has never taken the initiative to investigate allegations of corruption against his predecessor and political mentor. Instead, he has simply responded to pressure, giving in as little as possible and limiting the scope of any investigation as much as possible.

Initially, he commissioned the attorney general to investigate the assets of five charity foundations headed by Soeharto. Later he agreed to allow an investigation of Soeharto's personal bank accounts overseas. He has yet to agree to a full-blown investigation into the massive wealth accumulated by Soeharto's children and cronies. It is obvious to anyone but Habibie that this is a good place to start an investigation.

We detect a systematic pattern by the government to deny corruption, and shift the burden of proof on to those who pointed their fingers. The Attorney General's Office has threatened to drag politician Amien Rais, business consultant Christianto Wibisono and Australian-based scholar George Aditjondro in for questioning by force if they reject summonses to support their claims of corruption in high places. Aditjondro's published book detailing the extensive business involvement of the Soeharto and Habibie clans should provide sufficient stimulus to kick start any investigation without having to summon the author.

It is no wonder the government has drawn a blank in its investigation, if we could call it an investigation. Yet, despite its obvious ineptitude, the government is still willing to waste so much time, public money and resources on chasing and intimidating those making accusations of corruption. If that same time, money and resources had been devoted instead toward investigating the accusations, the government would probably have gone a long way toward achieving its objective. But as we all know, it ultimately boils down to political will, which one requires a microscope to find in the current regime. Between Jenkins and Winters, it seems nothing has changed. We can only wonder how long it will be before a planeload of American tourists is turned back.