Leaders lack patriotism in fighting corruption

Leaders lack patriotism in fighting corruption

A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Experts are calling on the country's leaders to demonstrate their
patriotism by embarking on an all-out war against the widespread
corruption that is plaguing the country.

Noted historian Anhar Gonggong and sociologist Imam B.
Prasodjo agreed on Saturday that a strong commitment to fighting
against corruption was one way of proving one's patriotism.

"Corruption is destroying our country. It is the antithesis of
patriotism," Anhar told The Jakarta Post when asked to comment on
the relevance of National Heroes' Day, which falls on Nov. 10.

Heroes' Day is commemorated to remember a battle between
Indonesian fighters and the Dutch and British forces in Surabaya
on Nov. 10, 1945.

The battle broke out after the Surabaya fighters rejected
demands by the allied forces to surrender and hand over their
weapons.

Bung Tomo, a local fighter, gave a historic speech on the
radio at the time, urging the Surabaya fighters not to surrender,
and to defend the country's independence, which had been
precipitously declared on Aug. 17, 1945.

The demand to surrender was made after the commander of the
allied forces, Brig. Gen. A.W.S Mallaby, was killed in a clash
with the fighters on Oct. 27, 1945, in the Jembatan Merah area of
Surabaya.

Anhar, who is also a lecturer at the University of Indonesia
(UI), argued that fighting corruption could be viewed as being
just as important as the battles waged during the struggle for
independence.

All-pervasive corruption was been blamed for pushing the
country into the debilitating crisis that erupted in 1997.

Despite its pledge to prosecute big-time corrupters, many of
whom are connected with former president Soeharto's political
vehicle, Golkar, the administration of President Megawati
Soekarnoputri has yet to put one big corrupter behind bars.

Golkar chairman and House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, who was
sentenced to three years in jail for graft involving State
Logistics Agency (Bulog) funds worth Rp 40 billion (US$4.7
million), remains free pending a decision on his appeal by the
Supreme Court.

Berlin-based Transparency International listed Indonesia as
the sixth most corrupt country out of 132 countries surveyed from
July 2002 through June 2003.

According to Anhar, many of those who struggled for
independence immediately got involved in corruption after the
country achieved independence.

"Although they are buried in the heroes' cemetery, they do not
deserve to be called heroes," Anhar said.

Imam Prasodjo, a sociologist from UI, concurred with Anhar,
saying that the current crop of national leaders could not be
called patriotic if they were judged by the actions they had
taken against corruption.

"We do not just need clean leaders, but also commitment and
action against corruption from them. In this sense, none of our
existing leaders meet the criteria," said Imam.

Besides being clean, he said, a patriotic leader would be
concerned about how to manage various important issues such as
the environment and education.

According to Imam, the absence of "heroic" leaders was
prevalent at the national level only, while at the community
level "many heroes can be found."

He claimed that there were still many people at the grassroots
level who showed their patriotism by focusing their concerns on
pressing issues such as the environment.

"There may not be heroes at the national level, but at the
community level, there are still many heroes," said Imam, who
chairs the Yayasan Nurani Dunia (World Conscience Foundation),
which helps migrant workers and is involved in conflict
resolution in various parts of the country.