Govt must not waver in its battle against corruption

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.