Immoral practices

Immoral practices

From Pelita

As an honorable nation we should reject the perception that
corruption has become a culture in Indonesia. But reality shows
us that corruption prevails. The ministry of religious affairs, a
state institution that is responsible for moral and mental
development, is not free from corruption.

In every recruitment program for civil servants in the office
of the ministry of religious affairs in Maluku, for example, the
successful candidates are demanded to pay several hundreds of
thousands of rupiah for issuance of their employment decrees. The
fees vary according to the rank and position candidates apply
for. For diploma holders the fee is set at Rp 300,000, holders of
master degrees Rp 350,000. Imagine how much money was collected
from 107 candidates.

The government is to change the status of the Islamic
educational institutions in Maluku province to state-owned
institutions. Certain individuals have taken advantage of this
program for personal material gains.

Each school involved is required to pay Rp 1,500,000 to
process the documents in Jakarta. A large amount of money will be
collected from a number of schools for that purpose. Grafts have
been accepted as a tool to make business run smoothly. And these
illegal fees are paid to different desks involved in the process.
Without grafts the work will become stagnant.

But when will this practice end? We are always being taught to
uphold attitudes such as amar ma'ruf nahi mungkar (let's promote
good deeds and avoid immoral actions). But is it worth expressing
moral teachings when individuals continue to indulge themselves
in distasteful activities?

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