Integrity is all they have

Integrity is all they have

Appreciation and admiration should go to the panel of judges
at the state court in Padang, West Sumatra, who handed down
unprecedented guilty verdicts on May 18 to 43 provincial
councillors for graft. They were given jail terms of between 24
and 37 months. These verdicts imply that there is hope for the
law being enforced in the country.

The bravery of the panel of judges was, to a certain extent,
due to their possession of integrity, meaning they are honest and
firm in their moral principles, by which they knew the
councillors' behavior was not right, proper or acceptable.

Tragically, these particular events happened in a society
which bases its daily life on religious and customary symbols
that literally say custom is based on sharia and sharia is based
on God's book.

There are those who honor these religious and customary
symbols, and there are those who do not. The latter were given
"God's punishment" through the aforementioned court verdict.

The "successful" law enforcement in Padang could actually set
an example for other regions, as there is ample evidence of graft
involving regional councillors. The root cause of the problem,
prosecution not withstanding, lies primarily in the
implementation of Law No. 22/1999 on regional autonomy.

In the past three years, the imposition of the law has created
"little rulers" (The Jakarta Post, May 19) both at the provincial
and regency levels. Loopholes in articles 19/1/G, 21/2 and 29/5
that give councillors the right to determine their own budgets
have been used accordingly to give themselves tremendously high
salaries and generous retirement funds.

With a revision of the regional autonomy law and a number of
other laws high on the agenda of the House of Representatives
before its term ends in October, it is likely the loopholes will
be addressed. It is expected the revised law will implant a
strong sense of integrity among law making bodies and law
enforcers, and create better governance.

M. RUSDI
Jakarta