Many admit to bribing officials

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In what is seen as further proof that corruption is entrenched in Indonesian society, up to 30 percent of Indonesian adults may have bribed officials in 2005 for speedy government service in obtaining either an ID card, a driver's license or a business permit.

This fact was revealed in the 2005 Global Corruption Barometer, a report issued by Transparency International. The report was submitted on Friday to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has made the fight against graft one of his top priorities.

However, Indonesia was not the worst offender. According to the report, in Cambodia, Cameroon, Paraguay and Mexico between 31 percent and 45 percent of the population bribed authorities in 2005.

The report said Indonesians regarded political parties as the most corrupt institution in the country. That was a common perception, with people in 43 of the 69 countries where the survey was carried out sharing this same opinion.

In the survey, which was conducted by Gallup International on behalf of Transparency International, Indonesians gave political parties a score of 4.2.

Scores ranged from 1 to 5, reflecting the least corrupt to the most corrupt.

Coming right behind political parties in Indonesia were the House of Representatives, the police and the customs and excise office, which all received a score of 4.0. The judiciary and the tax office both received a score of 3.8.

"Corruption remains a big concern for citizens around the world, who pinpoint their political and judicial systems first and foremost. However, while political corruption is cited as a major problem in many countries, it is also clear that bribery and petty corruption weigh heavily on the public in many poor nations," the report said.

Unlike many respondents in other countries, however, Indonesians believe there is always a silver lining behind the dark clouds.

The report found that Indonesians are the most optimistic in expecting a decline in corruption during the next three years.

As many as 81 percent of Indonesian respondents believe the level of corruption in the country will eventually decline. That figure is a record high for the country, up from 66 percent in 2004 and 55 percent in 2003.

Forty percent of Indonesian respondents believe corruption levels have already begun to decrease over the past three years. A positive perception of corruption eradication was also seen in Columbia (40 percent), Georgia (46 percent) and Kenya (48 percent).

This optimistic attitude in Indonesia is largely related to the work of the Corruption Eradication Commission, which showed significant progress in dealing with high-profile graft cases in 2005, TI Indonesia said.

TI Indonesia supervisory board chairman Todung Mulya Lubis said the government must maintain this positive sentiment by intensifying its antigraft campaign.

"It's a fantastic figure. We told the President that the antigraft movement that he has led has raised the public's expectations. We have to maintain the momentum," Todung said after a meeting with Susilo.

He said TI Indonesia asked the President to continue "going after the big fish" and to enact a law protecting whistle-blowers to bolster the antigraft movement.

The Global Corruption Barometer is different from the Index Corruption Perception, which is also issued by TI. While the Global Barometer surveys regular people, the Index Perception targets businesspeople and executives.