Government affirms commitment to fight corruption

JAKARTA (JP): Top government officials pledged their commitment on Thursday to eradicate corruption in the country, but warned that it may take time for the legal system to be able to properly address the problem.

Speaking at a seminar here on Thursday on business ethics and anticorruption reform organized by PT Harvest International Indonesia, President Abdurrahman Wahid said he was committed to creating a conducive atmosphere for business and investment, which included freedom from corrupt practices.

"Please invest here, please utilize our natural resources, but please bring technology, please bring your networks and please bring your management systems," the President remarked.

He acknowledged that time was a key element in the fight to sort out the country's complex problems and bring its corruptors to court.

"The fact that up to now there has still been no corruptor taken to court does not mean that the government isn't working to fight corruption," Abdurrahman said.

"The attorney general has done a lot of things."

Other than the President, the one-day forum brought together a host of top level Cabinet and state officials, including People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Kwik Kian Gie, Minister of Mines and Energy Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Attorney General Marzuki Darusman.

One key element in ensuring the eradication of corruption is a strong legal system.

Attorney General Marzuki Darusman also emphasized the importance of cleaning up his office, but conceded that "it will take about five to 10 years for the (justice) system to be able to reasonably function" due to past corruption.

"The system is undergoing a very dramatic change, so we need to give it a bit of time to get it back on track," Marzuki said.

He added that "the past system was radically corrupt" and that "there has to be a specific way to address the problem".

Marzuki admitted that, in the past, the Attorney General's Office had "ostracized and marginalized" the people to serve the interests of the power holders.

It is only with the political will from the government to ensure a corruption-free society that the Attorney General's Office can serve its true function, and that, Marzuki said, has been increasingly evident in the past few months.

Marzuki said recent political events have allowed his office to press ahead on the Bank Bali scandal and two other major investigations, namely a probe into alleged corruption by former president Soeharto and human rights abuses in the ravaged territory of East Timor.

"We have been able to do these three things in recent weeks only because of various recent political developments within the Cabinet," he said.

Marzuki also said the government would set up a special anticorruption body within two years that would report directly to the President.

"Gradually all cases of corruption will be handled by this agency," he said.

Bribes

While recognizing the role from within the government to combat corruption, President Abdurrahman also called on the business community to help ensure that it was not corrupted from the outside.

He warned the business community not to repeat the "dirty business practices" of the past, and, more importantly, not to dictate to the government using the economic influence they may have.

"The government is controlled by the people. And business should not dominate the government," he asserted.

Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono conceded the image of his ministry was badly tarnished by the practice of corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) during the New Order era.

He said the ministry was now preparing three bills to address these concerns, specifically an electricity bill that would affect PLN, an oil and gas bill that would affect Pertamina and a general mining bill.

The general mining bill, especially, aims to ensure good mining practices, which protect the environment and place a greater focus on the development of the society in the area surrounding the mine.

"The bills aim to eliminate monopolies, and introduce a much higher degree of competition," the minister remarked.

Minister of Finance Bambang Sudibyo pointed out the necessity of empowering Cabinet members in combating corruption.

"We in the ministerial level must have legal means to conduct fair and thorough investigations of any KKN." (rid/byg/prb)