Many admit to bribing officials

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.