House urges govt to curb corruption
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives closed its third assembly period on Thursday and went into a month-long recess, with calls for the government to materialize its promise to stamp out widespread corruption in the country.
The House said while that promise still stood, efforts to materialize it had resulted in nothing but talk.
Addressing House members seated in the half-empty plenary hall, House Speaker Agung Laksono blamed sluggish progress in the eradication of corruption partially on law enforcers' low morals.
"Indications of moral degradation are evident in the involvement of law enforcers in criminal acts, such as gambling and illegal logging activities," he lamented.
Agung said the government should beef up coordination among pivotal government institutions and take serious action against those found guilty of embezzlement.
Indonesia has been ranked by the Berlin-based International Transparency as the fifth most corrupt country in the world. Numerous surveys have shown that leading contributors to the situation are red tape and the weak performance of legal institutions.
A number of low and high-profile corruption cases have been exposed and investigated over the past few months, many of those implicating state officials and House members themselves.
On the same occasion, the House suggested that the government make an inventory of its islands, and register them with the United Nations before 2007, to avoid more claims by neighboring countries.
Indonesia has over 13,000 large and small islands, many of which are still virgin. Indonesia lost the Sipadan and Ligitan islands in 2001 to Malaysia, and is currently in a dispute with Malaysia over an offshore oil field in East Ambalat, Sulawesi.
Agung reminded House members to work quickly and efficiently in deliberating bills, particularly as the institution had failed to make any laws during its third assembly period, which started on Jan. 10.
According to the National Legislation Program, the House is tasked with deliberating 55 bills this year, including those on the presidential body and disaster mitigation.
Nevertheless, Agung stressed the importance of thoroughness in the discussion and consideration of bills, as well as paying attention to public interests and those of related institutions, to prevent the Constitutional Court stepping in to review laws in the future.