Megawati renews call to combat graft, uphold law

Megawati renews call to combat graft, uphold law

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Sunday reiterated calls for
the country to fight against corruption, collusion and nepotism
that had tarnished the country's image.

Speaking in front of tens of thousands of Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) supporters in
Semarang, Central Java, Megawati expressed concern over the fact
that Indonesia was classified as one of the most corrupt
countries in the world.

"Whether the survey is valid or not, still the report concerns
me and makes me sick," Megawati said during the celebration of
the 29th anniversary of the largest party in the country.

The president, who is also the chairwoman of the party,
underlined the importance of all Indonesians joining hands and
fighting against such practices.

She also said that it was important to uphold the law when
fighting corruption.

"We have to end the (corrupt) condition and uphold the law,"
the President was quoted by Antara as saying.

According to the latest survey from Political and Economic
Risk Consultancy (PERC), Indonesia is the most corrupt country in
Asia. In the scale of one to 10 with 10 being the worst,
Indonesia scored 9.92.

The latest developments in the country seem to verify the
survey with House of Representative Speaker Akbar Tandjung being
detained and Central Bank Governor Sjahril Sabirin being
sentenced to a three-year jail term, both for involvement in
graft cases.

However, it was not immediately clear whether Megawati's
remarks represented the party's stance on the planned
establishment of a House special committee to probe the Akbar
case, scheduled to be decided on Monday.

Should such a reluctance represent the party's stance then
most likely the party will not support the establishment of this
special committee as Akbar is ready to be brought before the
courts.

Megawati is currently in a dilemma where on the one hand she
is fed up with the corruption practices, but on the other hand,
she would lose the support from Golkar, the second largest party
led by Akbar, if her party supported the establishment of the
special inquiry committee.

During Sunday's celebrations Megawati also expressed concern
over the alleged involvement of some of her party's cadres in
money politics, especially in the election process of governors
or regents across the country.

"Many of the party's cadres in the executive and legislative
bodies have tarnished the party's image as they have been
involved in money politics, during the election process of
governors and regents," Megawati said.

To handle the rising problems, Megawati said that she had
ordered the party's leaders to hold routine meetings to discuss
the issue.

At the celebration Megawati was accompanied by her husband
Taufik Kiemas, PDI Perjuangan's secretary general Soetjipto and
deputy secretary general Pramono Anung Wibowo.