How RI can be a First World nation

How RI can be a First World nation

Patrick Guntensperger, Business Consultant, Jakarta,
ttpguntensperger@hotmail.com

The Republic of Indonesia has everything it needs to take its
place among the nations of the First World. There seems to be
little reason for Indonesia's perennial position as a paradigm of
Third World backwardness and poverty.

What then, is the reason for a country with the blessings of
abundant natural resources, proximity to the world's largest
market for consumer goods and a climate that is envied by the
rest of the civilized world, to be so far behind the rest of the
world in economic terms? What is preventing a country as blessed
as Indonesia from taking its place among such Asian countries as
Singapore, Japan and Taiwan?

The facile answer is the endemic corruption that exists
throughout every stratum of government. It is common knowledge in
Indonesia that any court case can be settled favorably by means
of a payment to the judge. Any police matter can be handled by
payment of a bribe to the right official. Any paperwork, license,
document or permit can be acquired by open bribery. Corruption in
government is so completely pervasive that an honest civil
servant (were there such a thing) would be looked upon with
skepticism and deep suspicion. It is not cynical, merely
realistic, to observe that if you want anything done by any level
of government, you had best be prepared to pay a bribe to the
functionaries responsible.

That is the day-to-day reality of dealing with bureaucracy in
Indonesia. And, of course, the reality of rampant corruption is
even more blatant at the higher levels of government. Does anyone
seriously believe that there is an honest system for the
tendering of government contracts? Could anyone in Indonesia say
with a straight face that they know of even one significant
government contract that was awarded on the basis of an honest
and fair bid and was uncorrupted by nepotism, bribery or
coercion? Has there ever been a political appointment made on the
basis of merit? Even to ask the question is to invite bemused,
cynical laughter.

Oddly, this points to the less facile answer to the question.
It is not merely the corruption that runs from the very highest
levels of government to the cop on the street in Indonesia that
holds the country back from progressing into the community of
developed nations; it is the tolerance of that corruption. Many
countries have a level of corruption that impedes that country's
growth and progress; one thinks immediately of South American
countries, for example.

Nonetheless, Indonesia has a long way to go before it achieves
even, say, Argentina's status among the community of nations.
That is largely because, although corruption in countries like
Argentina is rampant, the population as a whole rejects it.
People, when they encounter graphic examples of corruption in
public office, may not be surprised, but they are offended, they
are outraged and they express their outrage. Indonesians, on the
other hand, are not only unoffended by corruption, they embrace
it in their own lives.

It is a sad reality that the people of Indonesia expect
dishonesty in their day-to-day business transactions. The sale of
inferior products masquerading as genuine or originals is so
routine as not even to elicit a raised eyebrow. Empty guarantees
and meaningless warranties are not the exception, but the rule.
An agreed upon price that suddenly changes before the transaction
is complete is infuriatingly commonplace. It is a rare tradesman
indeed, who doesn't immediately triple the price asked for his
product when he sees a foreigner approaching.

It is a truism that corruption can only be attacked from the
top down. That is to say, we all realize that the prosecution of
a minor official for routinely accepting gratuities for doing his
job would be an empty gesture as long as corruption on a vast
scale at the highest levels of government exists. But like all
truisms, this one could bear some scrutiny.

In fact, acceptance of that truism is essentially anti-
democratic and, in the final analysis, irresponsible. It is
founded on a mindset that suggests that Indonesia is a country
that is ruled rather than governed. The truth is that for
corruption to be eliminated, or even diminished, it is the people
themselves who must change their thinking.

If the average person were to be appropriately outraged by the
complacent dishonesty that surrounds him, habitual corruption
would be unacceptable. Corruption in government exists by the
explicit or tacit consent of the governed. There will never be
change -- at the top or anywhere else -- as long as those who
elect the government tolerate theft, bribery, nepotism and all
other forms of corruption.

As a democratic country, Indonesia has at it its disposal the
tools that are required to put an end to the almost comical level
of corruption that holds this country back from her rightful
place among the mature nations of the world. We must remember
that a democratically elected government has a responsibility to
carry out our wishes and that, if it fails to do so, a more
responsive government will replace it.

Every citizen must not merely expect, he must demand the
highest standards of integrity of his elected representatives.
Each elected official must constantly feel the pressure of
personal accountability to his constituents. And the elected
officials must recognize that they will be held accountable for
the integrity of the unelected civil services with which they
have been entrusted. It must be understood that a breach of the
public's faith is a career-ender.

This kind of accountability in government does not
spontaneously develop; a very demanding populace must impose it.
As long as corruption is tolerated, as long as dishonesty is
accepted as the natural order of things, it will continue to
flourish. When the average person decides that he or she deserves
better than to be routinely lied to, betrayed and stolen from,
the will to change will begin to make itself known. Only then
will Indonesia begin to take those steps that will lead to her
acceptance among the truly evolved nations of the world.

The writer has a Master's Degree in Philosophy and
undergraduate degrees in Political Science and History from York
University, Toronto.