Organized crime is here

President Soeharto on Monday asked the National Police to address the problem of organized crime. In his speech marking the force's 50th anniversary, Soeharto said our police should devote special attention to the issue, looking not only at the growing number of organized criminal activities, but more particularly at the sophistication of their planning, organization and execution. He cited economic development, advances in science and technology and changes in society and culture as factors that could lead to the growth of new types of crimes we are not familiar with. His remarks bring us to the reality that organized crime exists in this country.

We recall that as recently as last year, most law enforcement officials and legal experts still dismissed organized crime as a minor problem in this country. They said that none of the crimes committed in Indonesia could be traced to any of the big international syndicates. They acknowledged the presence of local crime groups, but these did not possess the sophistication normally associated with the Chinese triads and the Japanese Yakuzas.

So while the potential threat from organized crime was widely recognized, as apparent from the widespread debate on the subject last year, the issue received little priority from our law enforcement agents, who were more concerned with containing problems associated with traditional crimes.

What triggered the debate on the problems of organized crime last year was the 1994 murder of Nyo Beng Seng, a prominent Jakarta-based figure in the gambling business and owner of several massage parlors and night clubs in Jakarta. Two men were convicted for the murder, but police believed that they were assassins hired by Beng Seng's business rival, who resides in Singapore. Even then, police believed that this was a case of rivalry between syndicate leaders and did not reflect the seriousness of organized crime in the country.

Yet there were others, representing a minority group, who believed that organized crime had already penetrated deep into Indonesia, and that syndicates, albeit local ones, were taking root in our society. These underworld organizations controlled the lucrative vice trade: drugs, prostitution and gambling. While they may not have the sophistication of the Chinese triads, they have been working in collusion with people in powerful places. These pessimists pointed out that many anti-vice operations repeatedly failed because they were leaked beforehand, or that they were dropped at the intervention of powerful people.

They argue that we have underestimated our own underworld activities and that what we have seen or heard about organized crime in this country was only the tip of the iceberg.

There is ample evidence to suggest that crime groups have expanded their tentacles in the country. One needs only to look at the lucrative Ecstasy trade. The dozens of arrests made by police at discotheques and at Jakarta, Medan and Bali airports in the last few months represented the "small fries". The "big fish" -- the syndicates behind the trade -- are still at large and will likely remain invisible, given the sophistication of their operation. Two other vices traditionally run by crime groups -- prostitution and gambling -- are also thriving, although gambling is outlawed and prostitution is supposedly under strict government control.

There is another reason to be gloomy. Organized criminal activity usually breeds in places where corruption and collusion are rife and the law is weak. This makes Indonesia especially vulnerable.

It is therefore a big relief to hear President Soeharto's speech in which he recognized the problem of organized crime. This means that something at last will be done. But before discussing what actions to take, it would be wiser if we first try to recognize the severity of the problem. We need to determine not only the international links that these crime syndicates have, but more so the influence that they have built, including their links with politically powerful people in this country. Once we know the challenges confronting us, we can decide on a proper course of action.