More join cause to check officials' wealth
More join cause to check officials' wealth
JAKARTA (JP): The call for legislation to check the wealth of
top government officials by the Moslem Students Organization
(HMI) received a warm welcome among a number of political
commentators yesterday.
One of them was Gen. (ret.) Soemitro, the former chief of the
internal security agency, Kopkamtib, who advised that the issue
be treated with caution.
"It is a concept which cannot stand on its own," Soemitro
said. "If it is implemented now, there will no doubt be a big
vacuum in the government because presently there are many
officials whose wealth goes far beyond their incomes," he said.
There must be a "clear and comprehensive concept" in order to
implement the proposal, including restructuring and streamlining
the bureaucracy.
"The bureaucracy could cut down on staff and encourage greater
productivity among the employees that are retained. This, in
turn, would allow the government to offer better salaries to its
employees," he said.
He recognized that the low salaries of civil servants, one of
the lowest paid professions in the country, has been the prime
reason for government workers to moonlight or, worse still, abuse
their positions for financial gain.
Soemitro said the House of Representatives should also do a
better job in keeping an eye on top government officials.
HMI's proposal, while considered by many as nothing new, came
after a series of disclosures of collusion between government
officials and entrepreneurs. Last year the court sentenced four
directors of Bapindo, a state bank, for colluding with a
businessman.
HMI said top government officials must declare their wealth
before and after holding office and that a system must be
instituted to continue to monitor their assets.
Top government officials are already obliged to declare their
wealth before assuming office but this information is never made
public and is only available to a few people, including the
President.
Sabam Sirait, a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) said he was "very pleased" with the HMI proposal.
Special law
"I think the idea of recording the wealth of government
officials is very good and would be even better if a special law
was made for this purpose," he said.
Sabam said government officials who have direct contact with
the public, such as legislators and members of the Supreme Audit
Board, the Supreme Court, the president and the vice president,
should particularly be subject to this requirement.
"Before starting their terms and taking their oaths, their
personal wealth should be declared. Afterwards, when they leave
their posts, they should report again so the public can see if
their wealth has increased," he said.
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) supported the
proposal.
"Although it is not new, it is valuable because it comes in
spite of HMI's seemingly declining role. It shows once more HMI's
commitment to the development of a clean government," the
foundation's Director for Communication and Special Programs
Hendardi told The Jakarta Post in an statement yesterday.
"There is a great chance that officials will abuse their
positions given that business and politics are mixed together in
this country," he said.
He said in the absence such legislation, top government
officials are virtually "untouchable". (pwn)