Officials keep gift giving under wraps
Officials keep gift giving under wraps
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Government officials are accustomed to gift giving and will not
easily give it up, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)
was recently told.
Jakarta Chamber of Commerce's deputy chairman for organization
and industry, Fatahillah Dachlan, said businesspeople were
becoming "more creative" in giving gratuities.
Christmas, New Year and Idul Fitri, he said, were when gifts
were mostly given and received, taking many forms from furniture
or electronic gadgets to travel packages and even offers to pay
the school fees of an official's child studying abroad.
"A common trick is through arisan (a regular social gathering
whose participants take turns at winning an aggregate sum of
money)," he told a seminar on gratification hosted by the KPK on
Thursday.
Businesspeople are aware that they must not leave evidence,
that they have given gratuities, which could lead to bribery or
graft, Fatahillah said.
Under Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK, state officials are obliged
to report anything that is received unearned or without
recompense to the commission, which will decide whether or not
they can keep it.
Fatahillah said businesspeople also offered gratuities to
government officials in exchange for their assistance in
obtaining business permits, licenses or access to procurement
tenders.
"(Giving) gratuities ensures that businesses run well, but it
could also lead to mark ups," he admitted.
Good relations with government officials may also mean that
businesspeople are paid early for projects, Fatahillah said.
"Businesspeople will continue to give gratuities as long as it
does not violate government regulations," he asserted.
However, Fatahillah said that businesspeople were willing to
help the KPK probe cases involving gratification if the
commission could put them under a witnesses protection program.
Lambok H. Hutahuruk, the KPK's gratification director, said
the commission would cooperate with businesspeople in developing
methods to trace and control gratification among government
officials.
Due to ongoing debate over the definition of gratification and
the lack of punishments for those violating the regulation on
gratification, only one government official has reported
receiving a gratuity to the commission.
The official admitted to receiving Rp 20 million in cash from
a businessman for his birthday. The KPK returned the money,
declaring it was not classified as a gratuity.
But in an about-face, the KPK recently banned state officials
from accepting gift baskets from their subordinates or
businesspeople during the Idul Fitri and Christmas holidays. The
decision sparked protests from vendors who supply gift baskets,
who complained of a decline in revenue due to the ban.
The KPK has asked the President to issue a regulation to
determine which gifts state officials can accept, so as to avoid
bribery.