Govt must not waver in its battle against corruption

Ardimas Sasdi, Jakarta

It was remarkable to see President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promise to lead the anticorruption crusade personally, though skeptics would have been curious to know from the start just how he intended to fight the malignant illness.

Up to now Susilo has repeated the vow at least three times -- first during the election campaign, second in his inaugural speech on Oct. 20 and third during the launch of an anticorruption campaign on Dec. 4, 2004.

Whether it was sincere or not, the pledge from the number one man in the country brought a glimmer of hope amid the dearth of positive news since the financial crisis hit the country in 1997, which had seen four presidents. None of them except Susilo has put a plan to rid Indonesia of corruption on his top agenda.

The retired four-star Army general told the nation in his inaugural speech, broadcast live by electronic media from Merdeka Palace, that, "My administration will actively launch an anticorruption program, which I myself am going to lead."

He added that, "My administration will do its utmost to establish good governance that is responsive to the public's needs and aspirations".

As if wishing to be true to his word, the President inaugurated an anticorruption program on Dec. 4, 2004, which was followed up by the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 4 on the acceleration of the corruption fight. During the event organized by artists, Susilo recounted his experience of the meeting of 21 heads of state of the Asia Pacific Economic Forum in Chile on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22 last year, which also discussed ways to put an end to corruption.

"I am a sensitive person. When people (at the forum) were talking about corruption, I felt as if the eyes of 20 heads of state were on me...," Susilo said.

He noted that he was embarrassed by the experience, but said this had strengthened his resolve to build a clean Indonesia.

"I hope I can talk comfortably with other leaders of APEC during the next forum meeting in Seoul in 2005".

So far so good. But Susilo told a meeting of provincial governors at the State Palace on Feb. 25, four months after he was sworn in as president, that his government was focusing its antigraft efforts on the prevention of corruption in the future rather than pursuing graft cases that took place in the past.

He argued that," If we only look to the past, it means delving into things that are far from certain. We would be better off preventing mega corruption cases from recurring in the future".

Perhaps, the statement eluded the attention of many of us who were occupied by the fuel price hike, but the Feb. 25 statement is important as it will set the tone of the government agenda on the corruption. The same strategy is highly likely to be used by the government in resolving issues of the violations of human rights by the military in the past such as Tanjung Priok, Lampung and East Timor cases.

More importantly, we the people may never see Soeharto, his cronies and those who plundered the state through their involvement in the mega Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) scandal, sit in the dock.

Coincidentally, or perhaps not so, the Constitutional Court ruled on Feb. 17 that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the agency which spearheaded the corruption fight, has no retroactive authority. The ruling means that the agency cannot deal with cases of graft that took place prior to the commission's establishment in 2003.

"Fighting corruption is a mammoth task as the evil involve almost all elements and strata in the three branches of the government -- the executive, the legislative and judiciary, which colluded -- directly or indirectly -- to protect themselves, rather than checking one another in a complex democratic system of checks and balances." (J. Soedjati Djiwandono)

The recent election of Vice President Jusuf Kalla as chairman of the Golkar Party to replace Akbar Tandjung, who positioned Golkar as an opposition together the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the second largest party, tilted the balance of power toward the government. It was an advantage for the stability of Susilo's government due to Golkar's status as the largest party in the legislature. But this is also a liability for Susilo because many active and former members of Golkar, which served as the engine of Soeharto's regime along with the military during his 32 years rule, were involved in corruption, collusion and nepotism or KKN. Transparency International recently placed Indonesia among the world's most corrupt countries.

Taking into account the political reality and the large number of people involved -- some of whom are still in power -- it is no wonder that the government has wavered in combating corruption. Susilo has in fact taken the necessary steps to fight the evil including the installation of Abdul Rahman Saleh, an experienced lawyer known for his high credibility, as attorney general.

The new attorney general is expected together with the KPK and the police force to spearhead the anticorruption crusade, but the working performance of the agencies have so far been disappointing due to bureaucratic, legal and manpower problems. The government's promise to fight societal ills is just rhetoric as the plans lack focus and are not systematic.

With the lack of political will, corrupt legal system, inconsistency in law enforcement and a penchant for the good life, the possibility of success for the government's anticorruption program is in fact slim. But the government has no choice, but to work hard, quickly and systematically to root out the societal evil.

We must be ashamed of the endemic corruption and not relax the campaign even an inch. Our stake is gigantic -- Indonesia will be destroyed if the growth of corruption is not stopped as the Susilo told Time Asia in an interview last November.

The author is a staff writer of the Jakarta Post.