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.